New and exclusive to Business Canterbury, Canterbury Trusted is a designation or certification granted to businesses. It signifies that a business has met certain quality criteria and is considered reputable and trustworthy within our community.

The approval process to become recognised as a Canterbury Trusted business costs $2,800+GST.

Charges are applied at assessment stage. The fee covers an annual subscription and excludes GST.

Note: Total price includes a $500 non-refundable deposit as part of the assessment process.

Yes. Existing Connect/Thrive/Invest Membership is a prerequisite for Canterbury Trusted seal of approval. (You can not apply as Lite Member/Customer).

You can learn more about our Memberships here or contact us if you are not sure which type of membership you currently have.

Should your assessment result and/or due diligence process prove unsuccessful, we will provide feedback on the areas that need improvement.  You can then choose to work on addressing these issues and have the option to re-apply in future.

Once awarded, you can use the Canterbury Trusted logo and designation provided in your marketing materials, on your website, and in your physical location to showcase your trustworthiness to customers. Our brand and marketing pack will assist you to do so.

Canterbury trusted certification and payment is for a 12-month period. 

After this time, you can choose to pay and complete an annual renewal which ensures our certified businesses continue to meet our criteria for trustworthiness.

We will also carry out periodic reviews for members for quality assurance as well as providing tools to measure your success. 

Canterbury Trusted is open to businesses of various sizes and industries,  it is non-exclusive. However, some businesses will not meet our specific criteria. We are happy to discuss this with you further should you wish to apply.

Below is a high level view of what you can expect to happen through the various stages of the process - 

• Your organisation must have a paid membership with us.
• You must operate in Canterbury with locally based staff.
• Operating an ethical business is essential.
• Your organisation must have been in business for a minimum of two years.

You will complete a self-assessment of your business scoring the quality of your operations in the following areas:

• Governance, Strategy, and Planning
• Financial considerations
• People and Culture
• Customer relations and Marketing
• Workplace safety

Following the self assessment you will also need to provide professional references to support your application, and may also be required to provide the following supporting documentation:

• Copies of policies and procedures
• Proof of business insurances
• Written confirmation of financial viability

1. Following your expression of interest, we will engage with you to begin the assessment process.
2. You complete our assessment which will be validated through a due diligence process.
3. Upon approval as a Canterbury Trusted business, we will supply you with a digital brand pack and your business will be promoted as Canterbury Trusted on both our website and our member directory.
   

How long will it take?

The timeline can vary depending on how quickly an applicant completes each stage and provides required information. But allow a minimum of 8 weeks for the full process to complete.