IOPO International - Institute of Professional Organisers

What IOPO International - Institute of Professional Organisers does

IOPO International (Institute of Professional Organisers) is a membership-based professional association founded in 2017 and headquartered in Avalon Beach, New South Wales, Australia. It serves as the industry body for professional organizers operating across Australasia, encompassing Australia and New Zealand, with 121 active members as of the most recent disclosure. The organization operates a web-based membership management platform and the Find an Organiser™ directory (established 2017), which connects consumers with vetted professional organizer members searchable by location, service, and expertise.

IOPO monetizes through four membership tiers (Introductory $190 AUD, Professional $540 AUD, Enterprise $790 AUD, Sabbatical $120 AUD), all billed annually, plus an exclusive Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance product (Public/Products/Advertising Liability up to $20M, Professional Indemnity up to $1M) offered in partnership with Bruce Chiene Insurance Brokers — a channel exclusive to IOPO. Secondary revenue streams include tiered registration fees for the annual IOPO Conference (the 2027 edition covers pricing from $577 to $12,117+ depending on tier and table size) and member-exclusive PR/media opportunities. Underlying technology is a standard web application with sign-in, member accounts, event registration, and an insurance purchase portal; no public API, SDK, or proprietary AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.

The organization is founder-led under CEO Sarah Cottman (also founder, with an organising career dating to 2006), supported by a six-member Advisory Board covering Member Insight & Development, Professional Development, Website, Membership, and Research & Development. IOPO pursues regulatory advocacy via the NDIS Statement of Support, helping members access government disability funding for organizing services. The 2027 conference will mark the organization's 10-year anniversary. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and the entity is privately held with no institutional investment, parent company, or subsidiary structure.

Name

IOPO International - Institute of Professional Organisers

Legal name

IOPO International

Website

https://iopo.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IOPO International is a membership-based professional association founded in 2017, serving 121 professional organizers across Australia and New Zealand through tiered memberships, an exclusive insurance partnership, a consumer-facing directory, and an annual industry conference.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Avalon Beach

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Annual membership fees at multiple tiers providing access to professional development, networking events, directory listing, insurance products, and member benefits.
2. Insurance Products: Exclusive industry-specific Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance policy for Professional Organisers, offered through partnership with Bruce Chiene Insurance Brokers.
3. Conference Registration: Revenue from annual IOPO International Conference events, with tiered pricing for members, non-members, and table bookings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

IOPO International is a membership-based professional institute that represents professional organisers in Australasia. Its core offering is a suite of membership services including a public Find an Organiser™ member directory, multi-tiered annual membership plans, a five-module professional development course (IOPO Signature Course), and exclusive industry-specific Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance accessed through a partnership with Bruce Chiene Insurance Brokers.

Product overview

IOPO International operates as a membership-based professional institute for the organising industry in Australasia, offering a unified platform of interconnected services. The core offering is the Find an Organiser™ Directory (established 2017) which connects clients with vetted professional organisers. This is supported by IOPO Membership Plans spanning four tiers (Intro $190, Professional $540, Enterprise $790, Sabbatical $120) that provide access to the IOPO Signature Course (5-module professional development curriculum), Industry Resources, networking events (Connection Events and Connection Room), and conference access. A key member benefit is the exclusive Professional Indemnity and Public Liability Insurance (via Bruce Chiene Insurance Brokers). The annual IOPO Conference serves as the premier industry education event. IOPO also provides advocacy resources like the free NDIS Statement of Support document.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Find an Organiser™: Member directory service established 2017 to connect clients with professional organisers.

Products and services

• Find an Organiser™ Directory A searchable public directory of IOPO member professional organisers that allows consumers to find and contact vetted local organisers by location, services, and expertise. Established in 2017 and serves as the institute's primary client-acquisition channel for members.
• IOPO Membership Plans Four annual membership tiers for professional organisers in Australasia: Intro to Membership ($190), Professional Membership ($540), Enterprise Membership ($790), and Sabbatical Membership ($120). Benefits include access to networking events, exclusive insurance, signature course modules, directory listing, conference discounts, partner discounts, and a member badge.
• IOPO Signature Course A five-module professional development course for professional organisers covering foundational and advanced practitioner skills. Module 1 (Becoming a PO) is included with Intro membership; full access to all five modules is bundled with Professional and Enterprise memberships.
• Professional Indemnity and Public Liability Insurance Exclusive industry-specific insurance for professional organisers, underwritten in Australia in partnership with Bruce Chiene Insurance Brokers. Covers Public/Products/Advertising Liability up to $20M and Professional Indemnity up to $1M. Available to IOPO members in Australia/New Zealand and non-members in Australia, with member and non-member pricing tiers and 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month coverage options.
• IOPO Conference Australasia's premier annual education event for the organising industry. Features two days of connecting, learning, and growing, including a Cocktail Event. The 2027 conference theme is 'Continuum: Your Purpose, Your Progress, Your Impact' celebrating IOPO's 10-year milestone.
• IOPO Connection Events Face-to-face networking events for professional organisers across Australasian venues including Adelaide, Queenstown, Sydney, and (historically) Singapore. Provide in-person community building and industry connection opportunities.
• IOPO Connection Room Online Community of Practice events for IOPO members featuring live discussions and recordings on industry-specific skills such as quoting practices, downsizing, and deceased estates management.
• Industry Resources Curated resources for professional organisers including professional development training, events, tools, and exclusive insurance coverage for organisers at all career stages.
• NDIS Statement of Support Free advocacy document highlighting the vital role professional organisers play in boosting independence and functionality for NDIS participants, assisting in navigating funding and payment challenges.

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Bruce Chiene Insurance BrokerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Exclusive partnership with Bruce Chiene Insurance Brokers to provide highly competitively priced Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance tailor-made for the Organising Industry, underwritten in Australia. This policy is exclusive to IOPO and cannot be accessed through any other channel. Coverage includes Public/Products/Advertising Liability up to $20,000,000 and Professional Indemnity up to $1,000,000.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW): Large Australian state-level professional association combining membership subscriptions, events, training, and advocacy. Useful as a scaled-up model of how IOPO could evolve in terms of member services and policy engagement.
• Institute of Public Accountants (IPA): Australian professional membership body offering tiered membership, continuing professional development, member benefits, and an industry directory. Provides a comparable operating model for monetising a small-business professional membership base.
• Business Network International (BNI): Global business networking and referral organisation with membership-based revenue and chapter events. Comparable in community-led GTM motion and recurring membership economics, but vastly larger and broader in scope than IOPO.
• Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors: A larger, established Australian professional body offering membership, training programs, and education pathways. Comparable as a structural model for monetising membership tiers via course content, but operates in an adjacent profession.
• Small Business Association of Australia: Australian small-business membership organisation offering tiered subscriptions, events, insurance products, and advisory services. Structurally comparable to IOPO in bundling insurance with membership, though operating at greater scale and broader remit.

Direct peers

• National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO): The leading US-based professional membership association for organisers and productivity specialists. Direct functional peer to IOPO: charges annual membership fees, runs an annual conference, provides education, and publishes a member directory for consumers.
• Professional Organizers in Canada (POC): Canadian national association for professional organisers. Mirrors IOPO's model — membership tiers, directory of vetted organisers, conferences, and continuing education — making it a close functional peer in a different geography.
• Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers (APDO): UK trade body for the decluttering and organising profession, offering membership, training, a public directory, and annual conference — the closest European analogue to IOPO's offering.

Regional players

• Australasian Association of Convenience Stores: Regionally focused Australian trade association. Cited as a structural analogue of a small Australasian membership body running conferences, advocacy, and member services — not a direct functional peer but a useful scale and operating model benchmark.

Emerging players

• Institute of Storage and Archiving (Japan) — Japan Organising Association: Japan-based organising associations and certifying bodies have emerged as the professional organising category develops in Asia; relevant emerging peer as IOPO expands or references regional standards.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/iopointernational
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iopo_int
• Instagraminstagram.com/iopo_international

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IOPO International - Institute of Professional Organisers