CITANZ 2025–2026 Year in Review

At a glance

Up on last year almost everywhere we looked

Here's how 2025–2026 compares with the numbers in last year's annual report.

Total Members

380→468

▲ +88 members (+23%)

Renewals (share of members)

52%→58%

▲ +6 pts

Mentees

80→126

▲ +58%

Mentoring Circles

5→11

▲ more than doubled

LinkedIn Posts

49→91

▲ +85.7%

LinkedIn Followers

1,927→2,501

▲ +29.8%

Xiaohongshu Followers

1,236→1,567

▲ +26.8%

Operating Revenue

$21.7K→$32.7K

▲ +50.6%

Membership

468 of us now, up from 293 two years ago

Last year there were 380 of us. This year there are 468. Renewals made up 58% of members, up from 52%, and 197 people joined us for the first time. Waikato and Auckland grew the fastest.

468

Total Members

▲ +23% (vs 380)

271

Renewals

▲ 58% of members (vs 52%)

197

New Members

▲ up from 182

+88

Net Member Growth

vs +87 last year

Three-Year Membership Trend

293 → 380 → 468

Members by Region: 2025 vs 2026

Auckland, Wellington and Waikato grew; Canterbury dipped slightly

Regional Growth

Change vs last year

Auckland166223 +34%

Wellington97113 +16%

Waikato (Hamilton)2442 +75%

Canterbury7471 −4%

Membership Mix

Full vs discounted

Full membership196252 54%

Discounted membership184212 45%

Regions represented911 incl. 5 overseas

Branch Membership Growth: 2024 → 2025 → 2026

Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch since 2024

Auckland+100.9% since 2024 · year on year +49.5% → +34.3%

Wellington+7.6% since 2024 · year on year −7.6% → +16.5%

Christchurch+36.5% since 2024 · year on year +42.3% → −4.1%

Finance

More money in, and most of it went back into events

With the FY25–26 accounts in (1 Jul 2025 to 30 Jun 2026), we can compare two full years. Operating revenue rose 50.6% to $32,681, mainly from membership fees and more than double the sponsorship. Most of the extra spending went on events, and we still finished with a bigger surplus: $5,402, up from $3,961.

Operating Revenue

$21,704→$32,681

▲ +50.6%

Operating Expenditure

$17,743→$27,278

+53.7%, mostly on events

Net Operating Surplus

$3,961→$5,402

▲ +36.4% · 16.5% of revenue retained

Where the Money Came From

Revenue by source · FY24–25 vs FY25–26

Where the Money Went

Expenditure by category · FY24–25 vs FY25–26

Revenue Detail

FY24–25 → FY25–26

Membership fees$17,100$21,601 +26.3%

Sponsorship$3,500$7,350 +110.0%

BBQ events & other (donations etc.)$1,104$3,730 +237.9%

Total operating revenue$21,704$32,681 +50.6%

Expenditure Detail

FY24–25 → FY25–26

Social events$6,152$13,492 +119.3%

Meetup costs$3,966$5,553 +40.0%

CITA swag$4,140$3,591 −13.3%

Admin & others$2,198$2,710 +23.3%

Volunteers$837$1,028 +22.8%

Mentorship$450$904 +100.9%

Most of the $13,492 social-events spend went on three big events: the 2026 Carnival ($5,705), the Auckland BBQ ($4,706) and the Wellington BBQ ($2,015). Figures cover core operating activity only. The member group-buy programme is a pass-through and is excluded above (FY25–26: $8,991 in, $9,057 out). With group-buy included, FY25–26 totals are $41,672 revenue, $36,334 expenditure and a $5,338 surplus.

Marketing & Communications

More people are hearing about us

We posted almost twice as often this year, and Hamilton joined as our fourth branch on LinkedIn. Our LinkedIn and Xiaohongshu audiences have grown every year since 2024.

Follower Growth: 2024 → 2025 → 2026

LinkedIn and Xiaohongshu

Channel Metrics vs Last Year

Social channels up, newsletter open rate down

LinkedIn posts4991 +85.7%

LinkedIn followers1,9272,501 +29.8%

Xiaohongshu followers1,2361,567 +26.8%

Xiaohongshu likes1,0721,407 +31.3%

Newsletters sent1111 steady

Newsletter open rate71–77%66% −

Mentorship

126 people learning from 23 mentors

Every mentoring group now runs as a circle. We grew from 5 circles to 11 and from 80 mentees to 126. So many people signed up that we opened a second intake, taking registrations to 157.

115

Mentoring Circles

2316

Circle Mentors

12680

Mentees

157

Registrations

Feedback Responses

Mentors and mentees at a circle meet-up — Circle meet-up

A mentoring circle session — Circle session

A mentoring circle get-together — Circle get-together

Circle Focus Areas

Circles were grouped by members' interests

Software Development Cloud / DevOps Data Testing Job Hunting

What Members Valued Most

61 feedback responses, approximate mentions

Experience & knowledge sharing22

Career development & job hunting15

Mentor guidance & support10

Networking & community6

Engagement & group discussions5

Career progress & confidence4

What Members Want Next

Top suggestions for next year

More in-person activities & networkingCreate more opportunities for mentors and mentees to meet and build connections face to face.

More frequent, structured sessionsIncrease engagement by giving each meeting a clear focus.

More practical career supportMock interviews, real-world industry insights and examples of successful job seekers.

Last year members asked for more varied, hands-on topics. This year the top request is more time together in person.

Branches

Four cities, one community

Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton each ran their own programme. One topic came up everywhere: AI, from agents and vibe coding to testing and safety.

Auckland

13 meetups▲ vs 12

200+ participants in CV review & mock interview programme, connecting job seekers with hiring managers and recruiters
Talks on AI agents, vibe coding, autonomous testing, computer vision and AI safety
The conversation moved on from what AI is to how to build with it, test it and use it responsibly

Wellington

10 meetups▲ vs 8

3 member-specific social events & 4 group lunch/coffee catch-ups
Meetups hosted at the Victoria University venue
5 new working-group members joined
Group-buying events & free member admission to special events

Christchurch

12 events7 speaker organisations

8 tech talks, 3 UC student sessions, 1 community social
New formats: 8 in-person, 1 online and 3 hybrid, so members outside Christchurch could join
18 LinkedIn posts (~1 in 4 of all CITANZ posts); now holds a Committee seat
CITA 10th Anniversary Carnival · ~100 joined the online Enterprise AI talk

Hamilton

7 meetups▲ vs 3

Members went from 24 to 42 (+75%)
Topics spanning AI, career development and job seeking
More local Chinese IT professionals connected and participating
More volunteers helping run meetups

Signature Moments

The days we'll remember

A few of our favourite events from the year.

Year-End BBQ Bash

Auckland, December 2025. Our post about it got more likes than anything else we shared on LinkedIn all year.

Auckland Carnival

Auckland, May 2026 (嘉年华庆典). Families and food, out in the sun.

CITA 10th Anniversary Carnival

Christchurch, 6 June 2026. Ten years of CITA, celebrated together.

In pictures

The people behind the numbers

Meetups, workshops and get-togethers in Auckland and Wellington this year.

Members with CITANZ banners at an Auckland meetup — Auckland meetup

An Auckland meetup in progress — Auckland meetup

Lamb roasting at the Wellington carnival — Wellington carnival & roast lamb

Food shared at a Wellington social — Wellington social

A full room at an Auckland meetup — Auckland meetup

Group photo at an Auckland meetup — Auckland meetup

Members at an Auckland evening get-together — Auckland get-together

Volunteers

Behind every event, a team of volunteers

Every meetup, workshop and mentoring circle this year happened because people gave their time, energy and expertise. This is our shout-out to all of them.