SAG-AFTRA Accredited Australia & NZ Intimacy Coordinator & Director Qualification Programme

The KIS Training curriculum is the first Australia-specific (and only Australia-based) training curriculum for the role of intimacy coordinator and intimacy director. Training is both in-person (practical) and online (theoretical) and incorporates international standards with those elements necessarily specific to Australia, including Australian criminal, civil and entertainment law, union standards, state-specific requirements, domestic industry knowledge, and the unique cultural and geographical make-up of Australia.

The KIS curriculum is furthermore unique in its training on culturally competent, trauma-informed mental health approaches, and features a bespoke collection of research on intimacy in story-telling from various cultural perspectives, including First Nations Australian, African, Arabic, Latin-American, Indian and Chinese. Throughout, the curriculum consciously dislodges the European and Western viewpoints as the only (or the normal) historical (or current) way of using intimacy in storytelling.

The programme typically takes two years or more to complete and the curriculum consists of 15 areas of training and examination plus at least 100 hours of practical experience in intimacy coordination for both stage and screen. We accept applicants from all over Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand), and typically only accept a small number of applicants so that we may give them the time and attention they deserve, as well being mindful of market supply and demand. The cost of training reflects this, however we remain the least expensive full IC accreditation programme in the world, as well as providing several partial scholarships.

It may be worth noting here that intimacy coordination, like other industry crew roles, is project-based and does not typically provide a steady or main source of income for those who work professionally in the field, rather it typically forms part of a several-pronged skill-set and income stream.

“I would like to thank you for the opportunity for Black Pages to undertake this independent review, which found that the newly developed ground breaking ‘KIS Intimacy Coordination & Intimacy Direction Training Curriculum’, a first for Australia, training content is very comprehensive in the proposed content areas and associated resources. Furthermore, I would like to provide this Letter of Endorsement from Black Pages, and wish you every success in rolling out the developed training across the arts and associated wider performing arts sectors into the future.”

— Paul Newman, Managing Director of Black Pages, Australian First Nations Consultancy

The application deadline for the 2024-2025 cohort of the KIS Intimacy Coordinator Training Program has now closed.

If you would like more information, to join our waiting list for 2026 and/or be kept informed of available training across Australia, please send us an email with “Wait List” in the subject line, or fill in this form.

Contributors & Instructors of the KIS Intimacy Coordinator Training Programme include:

Tonia Sina — Intimacy Director and founder of Intimacy Directors International, USA

Paul Newman — Managing Director of Black Pages, First Nations Consultancy, Australia

Jenevieve Chang — Actor, Writer and Development Executive at Screen Australia

Kaja Amado Dunn — Intimacy Professional, diversity consultant, associate faculty of Theatrical Intimacy Education, USA and Associate Professor of Anti-Racist & Culturally Competent Practice, Carnegie Mellon University, School of Drama, USA

Eugene Niblack — Mental Health & Diversity Manager, and Professor at Excelsia College/Australian College of Applied Professions, Australia.

Anita Joinking — Child Safe Officer at Children’s Guardian NSW, Australia

Sarah Carroll — Access Coordinator and Pasifika, queer, neurodiverse writer and producer at Purple Carrot Entertainment, Australia.

Rachel Flescher — Intimacy Coordinator at Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, USA

Dr. Lori Leigh — Intimacy Director at Intimacy Ponecke, NZ, Rainbow Consultant & Professor of Theatre, University of Victoria at Wellington, NZ

Michela Carattini — Intimacy Coordinator at Key Intimate Scenes, Actor/Filmmaker & Mental Health professional specialising in Violence Against Women (VAW), Australia

Akala Newman — Actor, Dancer, Singer & Assistant Producer, Mooghalin Performing Arts, Australia

Adeeb Razzouk — Actor, Content Creator & Facilitator of Theatre of the Oppressed, Community Migrant Resource Centre & founder of the Arabic IC Resource Group, Australia

Dr. Carolyn Carattini — Doctor of Creative Industries, Author of Psychological Skills for Dancers, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia; Stanford University, USA & University of Durham, England