Golf Australia and AICD Launch Three-Year Governance Education Partnership

Golf Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) have launched a three-year partnership establishing a national governance education program designed to strengthen leadership capability across Australian golf clubs.

Serving almost half a million club members and more than 11,000 volunteer directors nationwide, the expanded collaboration builds on a successful 2025 pilot and provides a structured development pathway ranging from awareness webinars to formal directorship accreditation.

Emphasising the need for professional preparation in volunteer leadership, managing director and CEO of the AICD, Mark Rigotti, said: “The AICD exists to strengthen society through world-class governance.”

“This partnership with Golf Australia is a powerful example of that mission in action, bringing structured, high-quality governance education to more than 11,000 volunteer directors who give their time to serve their clubs and communities.

“Too often, volunteer directors are expected to govern complex organisations without any formal preparation.

“This program changes that equation. It provides a clear, accessible pathway, from foundational knowledge through to advanced directorship certification, that builds genuine capability,” Rigotti said. 

Highlighting the broader commercial implications for the sport’s infrastructure, CEO of Golf Australia, James Sutherland, added: “Australian golf clubs are significant organisations.”

“They manage major infrastructure, employ thousands of people, and collectively serve hundreds of thousands of members and are deeply embedded in the communities they operate in.

“The people who govern these organisations deserve access to the same quality of education and support available to directors in any other sector.

“What’s most encouraging is that clubs are now choosing to make this training mandatory for incoming directors.

“That’s not something we’ve mandated, its clubs recognising for themselves that governance education makes their boards and their clubs stronger,” Mr Sutherland said. 

Demonstrating grassroots adoption, Devilbend Golf Club GM, Tim O’Sullivan, noted the operational transformation. 

“Now that Golf Australia has formalised the partnership with the AICD, I think that’s something we’ll write into our club rules.”

“At least the by-laws. It’ll be part of the induction for all incoming directors, they’ll need to complete the course before they can be elected,”O’Sullicvan noted.

The initiative addresses persistent structural governance weaknesses revealed in recent industry research, including accountability gaps and varying governance maturity between volunteer-run and professionally managed clubs.

With pilot participants already moving to embed training into board induction processes and club by-laws as a mandatory requirement, the initiative represents a major cultural shift in sports administration.

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