Members and graduates should note the following matters in managing membership and graduateship.
Updating Personal Data
It is crucial for members and graduates to keep the personal details including contact and employment details up-to-date with the Institute to avoid missing any important notices relating to their rights, obligations, benefits and services.
Members and graduates can log into their user account to update these details. If they have changed their correspondence email address, which also serves as the username of their user accounts, there is need to complete the 'Personal Data Update Form' and return it to the Secretariat for updating of the record.
For members and graduates who have changed their names by marriage or deed poll, please inform the Secretariat in writing with certified true copies of relevant documentations for updating the record.
Renewing Membership or Graduateship
Members and graduates must renew their membership and graduateship by settling annual subscription and submitting the declaration of character and standing.
The renewal notice will be sent to all members and graduates via email at the beginning of each financial year (i.e. 1 July). Members and graduates must settle the annual subscription fee and make the relevant declaration by 30 September. Failure to settle the annual subscription fee may be a ground of membership/graduateship removal.
Renewal of membership and graduateship can be done online via logging into their user account.
Applying Concessionary Rate
The Institute offers four concessionary rates, namely Senior Rate, Retired Rate, Reduced Rate and Hardship Rate, to members and graduates who fulfil the relevant requirements.
Senior Rate is automatically granted to members who have reached the age of 70 before the start of financial year. No application is required.
For Retired Rate, Reduced Rate and Hardship Rate, eligible members and graduates can submit their applications, together with supporting documents as appropriate, online via logging into their user accounts by the designated deadline.
Application forms of respective concessionary rates can also be obtained from the Institute’s website.
See below for the eligibility of each concessionary rate.
This applies to members who:
1) are fully retired from employment and will not be returning to gainful employment (neither full-time nor part-time); and
2) are not receiving an income derived directly from labour or skill; and
- have reached the age of 55 and are members of CGI/the Institute of at least 25 years on or before the beginning of the financial year (1 July); or
- have reached the age of 60 on or before the beginning of the financial year (1 July)
Once the Retired Rate is granted, such rate will remain effective as long as members continue to fulfil the above criteria and maintain their membership with the Institute.
This is defined as a temporary relief offered to members or graduates, and applies to those who:
- have been unemployed for a minimum of six months prior to application or the beginning of the following financial year (1 July); or
- have ceased to receive income and/or remuneration due to health conditions (with substantial and sufficient supporting document(s) provided) for a minimum of three months prior to application or the beginning of the following financial year (1 July); or
- have encountered circumstances which the Membership Committee considers fit to grant the reduced rate.
Reduced Rate application is approved on an annual basis. Members and graduates are required to re-apply if they continue to fulfil the above criteria.
From 2019/2020 onwards, members and graduates are only eligible for the Reduced Rate for a maximum of five years. Reduced rate granted on or before 2018/2019 will not be counted towards this five-year limit.
Should members and graduates wish to continue to apply for Reduced Rate for longer than a total of five years, adequate explanation and documentary proof must be provided to the Membership Committee for consideration.
This applies to members or graduates who:
- have ceased to receive income and/or remuneration due to medical conditions for at least two years prior to application (with substantial and sufficient supporting document(s) provided); or
- have encountered circumstances which the Membership Committee considers fit to grant the Hardship Rate.
Hardship Rate application is approved on an annual basis. Members and graduates are required to re-apply if they continue to fulfil the above criteria.
Once the concessionary rate is granted to members or graduates, they must keep the Institute informed if they return to gainful employment (whether full-time or part-time) or receive income derived directly from their labour or skills. Such members and graduates should then pay the annual subscription at full rate for the current financial year.
Resigning from Membership or Graduateship
Members and graduates who intend to resign from the Institute should submit the ‘Membership/Graduateship Resignation Form’ and settle all outstanding payments with the Institute. For members/graduates who hold physical membership/graduate cards and tender resignations, the physical cards and the certificates of the Institute and CGI must be returned to the Institute.
Resigned members/graduates must not represent themselves as a Chartered Secretary or Chartered Governance Professional, or use the designation denoting their membership/graduateship of the Institute.
Where disciplinary action is being considered against a member/graduate, his/her membership/graduateship shall not lapse until the procedures are completed.
CPD Compliance
As a professional body, the Institute requires all members and graduates to fulfil its Continuous Professional Development (CPD) requirements, i.e accumulating a minimum of 15 CPD hours per year including certain Enhanced CPD (ECPD) hours taken from the Institute’s ECPD courses.
With effect from 1 July 2022, the ECPD requirement at Basic Level has been changed from 3 to 6 hours while the requirement of 15 CPD hours per CPD year remains unchanged. A two-year transitional period is applicable in the CPD years ending 30 June 2023 and 30 June 2024 and during each CPD year at least 4.5 ECPD hours should be from the Institute’s ECPD courses.
Each member and graduate must declare their fulfilment of the CPD requirements online annually via their user account within one month of the end of the previous CPD year.
Transfer of Membership to another CGI division
As the Hong Kong/China Division of CGI, members elected from the Institute hold dual memberships of CGI and the Institute. Membership of CGI is transferable across nine Divisions subject to the fulfilment of residency requirement of individual Division.
Got Questions?
Visit our FAQs or contact the Membership Section: 2881 6177 or email: member@hkcgi.org.hk
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