Aotearoa New Zealand Screen Editors Accreditation
Kia ohaoha te tuari pūkenga,
Sharing skills with generosity
e haukaha ai tō tātou anamata
Strengthening our future
ANZSE Accreditation Overview
ANZSE Accreditation is the highest honour that can be bestowed on a DEGANZ editor member.
STATUS AS A MASTER EDITOR
ANZSE Accreditation signifies recognition by peers as a master editor with a substantial body of work that consistently meets a world-class standard.
RECOGNISES PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
ANZSE Accreditation recognises professional accomplishment within any field in which you work and should preferably encompass several fields.
LONG-TERM CAREER
Accredited members must have been working as a professional editor for ten years or more. Building a body of work that reaches accreditation standards will usually take considerably longer, often 20 – 30 years.
COMMITTED DEGANZ MEMBER
ANZSE Accredited members must have been a full DEGANZ member for a minimum of three years.
NOT EASILY ACHIEVED
You may apply more than once before gaining accreditation. If an application is unsuccessful, the ANZSE Accreditation Committee may suggest the applicant reapply after further developing their body of work.
POST-NOMINAL ANZSE
Accredited members are the only people who are allowed to use the letters ‘ANZSE’ after their name. They are recognised locally and internationally as a testament of their skills and experience.
BICULTURAL RESPECT
ANZSE Accreditation acknowledges Te Tiriti o Waitangi, te Reo and Aotearoa history from Te Tiriti to the present day as being relevant to handling images generated in this country. All editors in Aotearoa work cross-culturally at some time. A working ethic of bicultural respect in editorial is required, based on knowledge of your own cultural responsibilities and competencies.
WITH RECOGNITION COMES RESPONSIBILITIES
An accredited member represents DEGANZ wherever they are in the world and continues to strive for the very highest level of practice and craft. They are expected to participate in and contribute to DEGANZ, passing on their knowledge and experience to upcoming editors.
Considering Applying?
Membership Status
If you intend to apply for ANZSE Accreditation, you must be a full DEGANZ member for at least three continuous years.
DEGANZ members are responsible for monitoring their own membership status. If you are not yet a full member, you should change to full membership as soon as you are eligible. Once a full member, you may apply after the required three years have been achieved.
Members whose fees were in arrears at any time during the required three years, and members currently in arrears, are not eligible to apply for accreditation.
Eligibility
You must meet all of the following criteria for your application to be considered:
- Currently active as an editor and not retired.
- Have worked a minimum of ten years as a professional editor.
- A full member of DEGANZ for at least three years continuously at the time of application, and be in good standing, and support the aims of DEGANZ.
- Either a citizen or a permanent resident of New Zealand.
Please consider the requirements for accreditation carefully before applying. Application payments are non-refundable.
Preparing Your Submission
If you meet the membership and eligibility conditions above, the next step is to get a body of your work together in the form of a proposed submission.
DEGANZ recommends the following:
- Consider if you really believe you are ready to apply based on the range and quality of your work to date.
- Put considerable thought, research and time into selecting what to include in your proposed submission.
- Allow ample time to prepare your submission, as it can take a lot of time sourcing and collating your media and creating the written components.
- Optional: Reach out to accredited members or DEGANZ Board members for advice.
Evaluation of Applications
Each application for accreditation is considered at length by the ANZSE Accreditation Committee. ANZSE Accreditation is not a competition, and each application is judged on its own merits.
To qualify for ANZSE Accreditation, your body of work must demonstrate a high degree of professional competence and skills. These skills include craft skills and managing editorial and post personnel.
However, ANZSE Accreditation requires more than professional competence and experience. It requires a high degree of creativity and contribution to storytelling that reaches a consistently high international standard across a variety of productions and challenges within your field of expertise. An editor who reaches the accreditation standard is likely to have won or be winning New Zealand or international awards.
Some things that may be considered by the Accreditation Committee when assessing submissions:
NB: depending on the field of editing an applicant works in, not all points may be applicable.
- Is there enough work of a consistently high standard to fairly appraise the submission?
- Does the applicant edit in a specialised field? If so, is the applicant’s work outstanding in their specialised field?
- Is the work aesthetically innovative, creative or artistic?
- Does the work demonstrate an ability to handle tonal range?
- Does the work demonstrate an ability to handle character emotional range?
- Is the pacing right for the work?
- Does the structure carry the narrative well?
- Is the work of a consistently high standard to be considered above just professional competence?
- Is the work technically excellent from receipt to handovers and beyond?
- Does the editor demonstrate knowledge of Aotearoa history and cross-cultural respect?
- Has any of the work been recognised nationally or internationally, or is it of that standard?
- Has the applicant mentored others or been actively involved in DEGANZ?
- Has the applicant been actively involved in the industry outside of the edit suite?
- Do the editor’s specified contributions to the screen industry serve the ANZSE kaupapa?
- Finally, is the applicant worthy of ANZSE Accreditation?
If an application is unsuccessful, the ANZSE Accreditation Committee may suggest the applicant reapply after further developing their body of work. If the applicant reapplies within two years, a second application fee will not be required.
Application Timeline
| Applications Open | 12 February 2026 |
| Applications Close | 31 May 2026 |
| Deliberation & Voting | 1 June – 31 August 2026 |
| Recommendations forwarded to DEGANZ Board | 1 September 2026 |
| ANZSE Accreditation certificates presentation | At the AGM on 19 September 2026 |
Upon Accreditiation
An accredited member may adopt the post-nominal letters ANZSE
The use of the letters ‘ANZSE’ after a person’s name is exclusively reserved for those who have received ANZSE Accreditation.
Expectation of Accredited Members
If you are considering applying for accreditation, please be aware that, should you be successful, it comes with a certain degree of responsibility and commitment.
Accreditation is the highest honour DEGANZ bestows, and your involvement is expected on accreditation panels, offering advice to prospective accreditation applicants, participating as a mentor and possibly offering your time as a guest speaker or tutor at DEGANZ masterclasses, workshops, or events.
If you don’t believe you can commit to helping DEGANZ in some of these ways, then perhaps you should reconsider applying for accreditation.
Honorary Accreditation
In exceptional and rare circumstances, on the recommendation of the Accreditation Committee, DEGANZ may award Honorary Accreditation to an editor whose body of work and reputation are well known and speak for themselves. In this case, there is no need for the editor to apply.
Once awarded, there is no difference between an honorary accreditation and any other accreditation.
If you have any questions about the application process or you would like to discuss the process before making an application, please email anzse@deganz.co.nz.