It is an exciting time in Australia for the Project Management Institute (PMI) and our growing membership.  This year Australia hosted the Asia Pacific PMI Congress in Sydney, and there are a number of key initiatives underway that will make Australia more prominent at an international level.

Your Council of Presidents, known as the Australian PMI Council (APC), is investigating a stronger National collaborative model and has commissioned an investigation into establishing the recommended Chapter-Branch model.  This model would see the creation of a single PMI Australia Chapter, allowing members to be part of a cohesive National Chapter.

Similar to the model operated by our neighbouring PMI New Zealand, the Chapter-Branch model would see all current State-based Chapters becoming Branches of the National Chapter, which would be operate under the name of  ‘PMI Australia”.  The PMI Global Operations Center in the USA have published details about the Chapter-Branch model at their Community Development page, however the Australian implementation would require some variations that may be better explained in APC’s response to Frequently Asked Questions located here.

In addition, a PMI Australasian Office is also being established in 2009 to better support the Australian and New Zealand Chapters, allowing a stronger engagement with Commonwealth and State Governments, and corporate Australia.  This Office would be able to promote the internationally-recognised PMI certifications, marketing the expertise of our certified members.

I look forward to keeping you abreast of our investigations in creating a stronger and more synergistic National body that will increase benefits to our members and help support the growth of the profession.