What accreditation and certification programs does MAIA offer?
MAIA (Martial Arts Industry Association Limited) lists accreditation and certification activity in two main areas: Covid Safe certification for martial arts instructors and schools, and MAIA Accreditation courses with published intake dates. The Covid Safe programs are the ones with the most detail on the site — including rollout numbers and international expansion — while the general MAIA Accreditation intakes are noted as suspended. If you are looking for a current, bookable course, the Covid Safe instructor certification and the Sydney accreditation course dates are the two items the site points to.
Covid Safe Martial Arts Instructor Certification
This is the program MAIA announced as the "Covid Safe Martial Arts Instructor Certification Program," rolled out under MAIA President Walt Missingham.
What the site shows about it:
- It is aimed at individual instructors who need to demonstrate Covid-safe practice.
- It sits alongside a school-level equivalent (see below), so an instructor and the school they teach at can both hold certification.
- The site reports "Instructors COVID SAFE MARTIAL ARTS INSTRUCTOR CERTIFICATION" as a news item, meaning it was treated as a live program at the time of publication.
How to approach it
The site does not publish a step-by-step enrolment path for this program in the material available. The practical route is to treat it as a MAIA member-facing program and confirm current status directly with MAIA before relying on it — particularly because the site also records that "MAIA Accreditation Intakes Suspended," which may or may not affect Covid Safe certification separately.
Covid Safe School Certification
The school-level program is the counterpart to instructor certification. Evidence on the site:
- "Covid Safe School Certification Being Rolled Out in Canada" — the program was extended beyond Australia.
- "Covid Safe Schools Certification Tops 20,000" — a reported milestone for school certifications.
- "Covid Safe Certification Tops 60,000" — a reported milestone covering certification overall.
These numbers are useful as a signal of scale and adoption, not as a measure of current availability. If you run a school and want certification, the relevant question is whether the program is still being issued, which the site does not state explicitly.
MAIA Accreditation Courses
The site lists "SYDNEY Accreditation Course dates now available" as a news item, which tells you:
- Accreditation courses are delivered in person, at least in Sydney.
- Dates are published rather than being open-ended, so you need to check the current schedule.
- The site separately notes "MAIA Accreditation Intakes Suspended," so the Sydney dates and the suspension notice may refer to different points in time or different course streams.
What to verify before committing
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Are intakes currently open or suspended? | The site carries both a "dates available" notice and a "suspended" notice |
| Is the course in Sydney or elsewhere? | Only Sydney dates are named in the material |
| Is it instructor-level or school-level? | The two Covid Safe programs are separate |
| Is MAIA membership required? | The site describes MAIA as a member-based peak body but does not state course eligibility rules |
Who these programs are for
Based on how MAIA describes itself — the peak industry body for martial arts in Australia, representing the industry to Federal, State and Territory governments, the community and the media — the certification programs are positioned for:
- Martial arts instructors wanting recognised Covid-safe or accreditation status.
- Martial arts schools wanting school-level certification, including for marketing and compliance purposes.
- School operators outside Australia, given the Canada rollout of Covid Safe school certification.
What MAIA does not tell you on this page
- No fees, pricing or payment details for any certification program.
- No eligibility criteria (membership status, belt level, insurance requirement).
- No application form or enrolment link for the accreditation courses specifically — the only form referenced is the insurance renewal application form for the 2025–2026 policy year, which expires at midnight on 30/06/2026.
- No confirmation of whether the suspended intakes have resumed.
If your goal is to hold a current certification, the safe sequence is: check whether MAIA Accreditation intakes are open, confirm whether Covid Safe certification is still being issued, and ask MAIA directly about eligibility and cost, since none of that is published in the material above.