Training
Flexible Governance and Leadership Training for Not-for-Profits and Community Leaders
The community and social sectors require adaptability. That’s why ICDA offers a range of governance and leadership training options designed to fit any schedule—self-paced, online, lunch-hour, and in-person formats are all available. Our courses help board directors and senior leaders build vital skills, networks, and confidence, equipping them to lead with impact.
Top Governance Courses for Not-for-Profits, Local Councils, and Community Organisations:
- Diploma of Governance
- Certified Community Director
- Online self-paced courses
- Advanced Leadership for Chairs
- NFP Leadership Certificate
- Financial Management for Community Boards
- Community Sector Secretaries
- Social Enterprise Capacity Building
- Lunch and Learn Webinars & Workshops
Our workshops offer practical, hands-on training on topics crucial to community leadership. Sessions include advocacy, financial management, conflict resolution, workplace health and safety, cultural awareness, team leadership, neurodiversity in boards, mentoring, and more.
Discover Your Next Governance Training: Visit our course calendar to find upcoming sessions for our board of directors courses, or click directly on any course to learn more about how ICDA can help enhance your leadership journey.
Specialised community sector training
Social enterprise capacity building
We provide a range of training options designed specifically for social enterprises.
We understand social enterprises. We were one of the first social enterprises in Australia, with our values enshrined in our constitution, which states: "commercial imperatives are afforded equal priority to our social mission, our commitment to employees, and our responsibility to the environment in which we work".
The Victorian Cemetery Trusts
The Victorian Cemetery Trusts Governance and Operational Training Program is designed to help cemetery trusts enhance their governance practices through a program tailored specifically to their needs.
The program provides an introduction into the knowledge and skills you'll need to survive and thrive as a cemetery trust member.
What people say...
“Your sessions are always fantastic - clear and focused topics delivered in a 60 minute format.”
“This was a great session and I’ll definitely be recommending ICDA courses to other board members I know!”
“Very worthwhile course, thank you”
“Amazing how knowledge can be gained using technology... no hassle, in the comfort a quiet space and knowing that all those slides will be in the recording for revision!”
“I enjoyed the session and interactions with others. We are not alone!!”
“Thank you for affordable, quality professional development”
“Thank you! Greatly appreciate these sessions.”
“This course really helped me in understanding how to be a good community director. Highly recommend the course to anyone who’s interested in becoming one!”
“The information was presented clearly and was very easy to understand. Excellent resources to take back to my organisation.”
“Very enjoyable course, the structure of the learning materials held interest throughout the course.”
“I have already suggested this course to others. I am very grateful for all the resources available at no cost and geared for organisations without many resources. It is amazing what we have access to. Ashamedly I have been in public health for quite some time and despite being aware of Our Community and using resources at times, it is only through doing this course that I have become aware of the depth of the material. I appreciate the mix of methods in the online sessions.”
“An excellent introduction to important governance topics.”
“I really like the links to the extra resources. I didn’t expect that and for the resources to be free and so helpful.”
FAQs
Our governance courses are accessible Australia-wide, with in-person sessions in all states and territories, plus convenient online options.
ICDA's team of experts offer training in New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, ACT and Victoria. We'll travel to you! Reach out to the in-house training team for options and to learn where we've been.
Yes, we offer a range of self-paced, online courses designed for not-for-profit leaders seeking flexible training options.
Absolutely! Our programs cover governance, leadership, finance, and more, tailored to the unique needs of board directors and senior NFP leaders.
We also run programs specific to the different positions that board directors and senior leaders hold:
- Advanced Leadership for Chairs: A course designed specifically for board chairs
- NFP Leadership Certificate: The perfect course for senior leaders
- Community Sector Secretaries: The best course for secretaries of boards
Plus many, many more.
Study your next board member course with ICDA.
Yes, ICDA offers custom in-house training solutions for not-for-profits across Australia. Contact us for more information.
Visit our training calendar for an up-to-date schedule of upcoming courses, workshops, and webinars.
Yes, several programs offer certification, including our Diploma of Governance, Certified Community Director program, Advanced Leadership for Chairs, Community Sector Secretaries and NFP Leadership Certificate.
We provide targeted training on key topics like financial governance, cultural awareness, advocacy, and more, available through workshops and webinars.
Want something tailored to your needs? Reach out to the in-house training team for options.
Our courses are open to not-for-profit board members, senior leaders, and community sector professionals looking to enhance governance and leadership skills.
ICDA members receive discounts on select training. Membership is free. Join today.
Visit the course page or contact us for details on training topics, fees, and registration.
ICDA's training is presented by our team of governance experts. We also partner with other organisations to ensure you get the expertise you need. Find out about our training partners on the ICDA homepage.
ICDA's training programs cover a wide range of topics important to not-for-profit and community sector leaders and board directors. Through our governance training for Australian NFPs, ICDA aims to strengthen governance in the community sector, enhance community sector leadership skills and contribute to a thriving community sector.
Governance can be hard. We know that. We're here to help make it easy.
Other governance networks that run training focus mostly on compliance. They're all about corporate governance. That's fine, but at ICDA, we believe there's more to governance than simple compliance. We believe that as a director of a board, your duty is to do good for the organisation and the world. Study with ICDA and we'll show you how.
We understand how difficult it is to be a director, and how much that compounds when you're a director in the not-for-profit sector. Our training for directors is built from our expertise gained in running training programs, including our Diploma of Governance, over many years.
Our training courses are attended by over 20,000 members of the Australian community and not-for-profit sector every single year.
We work with boards of directors and senior leaders within the sector, helping them to understand their governance duties better, and helping them to grow as leaders.
We believe that board member training should not just be for the corporate world who have bank accounts big enough to pay top dollar. We keep our training as cheap as possible (many training courses remain free!) to ensure strong governance across all organisations, big and small.