Kind Certification
For organisations that don’t just say their people come first. They prove it.
For organisations, sporting teams, and community groups that want to demonstrate humanity, integrity and standards.
Request the program overview and submission guide
What is Kind Certification
An independent standard for organisations that can demonstrate exceptional culture.
It signals three things
You set a standard for your people
You can back up your
values with evidence
You are willing to be held accountable
Certified organisations can
What it means in practice
Why become Kind Certified
Three outcomes gained by one standard.
Make your integrity and care visible
Values matter when people can see them in conduct, decisions and standards.
Reduce risk and strengthen governance
Psychological safety and psychosocial risk are now board level issues, not culture side projects.
Attract and retain the right people
High performers choose environments where standards are real, not performative.
Our Independent Council
The people who hold the standard.
Chief Kindness Officer
Kath is one of the world’s most recognised kindness advocates and the founding force behind Kind Certification. She brings a clear belief that humanity, integrity and accountability can coexist with high performance, helping ensure the standard remains credible, practical and meaningful.
Commander, NSW Police force
Christine brings more than 25 years of law enforcement experience across leadership, strategy and community service. Current Commander and former Chief of Staff to the Commissioner. She contributes strong governance judgement, stakeholder capability and a values-led focus on trust, accountability and connected communities.
CEO South Sydney Rabbitohs
Blake brings senior executive experience across elite sport, commercial growth and high-performance environments. As CEO of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, he has led major membership, partnership, community and infrastructure initiatives, including the Heffron Park Community and High-Performance Centre. His background also includes senior leadership in the UK Super League and executive study at Wharton and IESE.
Risk, Health Safety, Governance and Legal
Leisa brings senior expertise across enterprise risk, occupational safety and governance, with a strong focus on psychologically safe, high-performing environments. Her perspective adds discipline, oversight and practical rigour to how the standard is assessed, reviewed and maintained over time.
Co-Founder, KIND Collective
Lynda is the Co-Founder of Australian beauty brand KIND Collective and Managing Director of Vanilla Sugar. She has built and led successful businesses by combining strategic vision, commercial discipline and operational execution. Lynda is passionate about responsible business and creating long-term value through purpose-led leadership, bringing a practical perspective on building values-led organisations where culture, commercial success and community impact work together.
The Certification Framework
Five assessment pillars
This is not about perfection. It is about whether your organisation is listening, acting, reviewing and improving in ways that support both people and performance.
Employee Voice
Listening that leads to action, with confidential measurement, clear feedback loops and demonstrated response.
Employee Voice
- Confidential listening mechanisms
- Culture survey data with identified themes
- Speak-up channels and forums
- Visible action taken in response to employee input
Psychological Safety
An environment where people can speak up, challenge leaders, report risks and concerns safely and contribute whole heartedly without fear.
Psychological Safety
- Survey and forum data showing people feel safe to speak up
- Low reported fear of retaliation or consequence
- Clear escalation pathways, with concerns raised and resolved
- Leaders trained and assessed on creating safety
Leadership & Behaviours
Leadership are held to standards and day to day conduct that is aligned to healthy and high performing cultures, putting their people first.
Leadership & Behaviours
- Survey evidence that your stated values are experienced by employees
- People leaders are role models and held to account
- Consequences for behavioural misalignment
- Leader KPIs that include behaviour, not just output
Action & Accountability
A culture action plan with executive ownership and visible responsibility for follow-through and action taking.
Action & Accountability
- A formal culture action plan, signed off by the CEO, that responds to the themes your data surfaced
- Named executive owners for each priority area
- A review cadence with governance oversight
- Milestones and measures for each priority
- A record of barriers surfaced and how they were addressed
Innovation & Momentum
Proactive, creative initiatives that address culture themes and move the organisation forward, rather than activity for its own sake.
Innovation & Momentum
- New or original initiatives that respond to the themes your data surfaced
- Evidence the ideas came from your people, not a template
- Measures showing what each initiative shifted
- Scheduled review points with documented outcomes
- Momentum between cycles, not a single annual push
Your Safety Obligations
Go beyond compliance.
Psychosocial hazards, health and safety are not just 'nice to have', they are your legal responsibility. Organisations must identify hazards, consult and listen to their people, and eliminate or minimise risk. This framework provides a practical approach to not only managing obligations, but demonstrating you go beyond the compliance bare minimum to support your people.
Getting Certified
The process to secure the mark.
Organisations arrive with different levels of readiness, and this is not about being perfect from the outset. It is about a willingness to stand for kindness and integrity, and to show the evidence.
Secure your place
Places per intake are limited. Submission fees must be paid to secure your spot within the in-take. Council assessment is complete in November and announced on World Kindness Day.
Gather the evidence
Assess what data points you already have in place against the five pillars: work out what is strong, and what needs strengthening before submission.
Executive sponsorship
Ensure your CEO and executive team are supportive, with a senior sponsor of the initiative.
Submission Timing
Submissions must be in by 31st October. Successful organisations are announced on World Kindness Day.
HOW DOES THIS BENEFIT COMPANIES
A commercially sensible mechanism for aligning conduct, leadership and reputation, governed with the same seriousness applied to finance, safety and risk.
A structured way to drive culture programs and behavioural KPIs against a credible external benchmark, which reduces the guesswork.
A clearer line of sight between culture, stated values, the employee experience, accountability and governance.
What is involved
- Evidence across the five pillars: policies, action plans, survey data, leadership standards and governance processes
- Examples of action taken in response to employee feedback, not survey scores alone
- Leadership sponsorship, evidence access and participation in review conversations
- A willingness to act on identified gaps
- A second year accountability check-in across the two year certification period
The council looks for evidence of listening and action. This is not about having perfect results, it is about intention, action and continuous improvement.
Contact us
Start the conversation.
Whether you are ready to begin certification or exploring what this could look like for your organisation, team or community, let’s talk.