AQF Register - 2008

AQF Register of Recognised Education Institutions & Authorised Accreditation Authorities in Australia

The AQF Register was established by the AQF Advisory Board at the request of the Australian education ministers represented on the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) to facilitate the verification of AQF qualifications. This present AQF Register replaces previous AQF Registers (1995-December 2007).

Since October 2006 the AQF Register is also able to facilitate the verification of international qualifications approved by higher education government accreditation authorities for offer in Australia (see sub-category vi).

The AQF Advisory Board, of itself, has no operational role in the approval of institutions or the accreditation of qualifications, these functions being the responsibility of the Commonwealth, States and Territories which are members of MCEETYA. The purpose of this AQF Register is to provide a convenient, comprehensive public access point for the government-authorised accrediting bodies (including the self-accrediting institutions), together with all available on-line links to the relevant databases of approved providers/assessors and qualifications they are approved to issue.

Further information on the quality assurance processes surrounding these institutions and accreditation agencies is available from the AQF Quality Assurance Statements (all sectors).

The AQF Register has six sub-categories, keeping continuity with the previous Registers and looking to future needs:

1. Government Accreditation Authorities (all sectors)

2. Australian Universities

3. Other Higher Education Institutions which are authorised by governments to accredit their own courses

4. Non Self-Accrediting Higher Education Institutions and their AQF-approved qualifications

5. Registered Training Organisations and their AQF-approved qualifications (VET sector)

6. Overseas higher education institutions approved to operate in Australia, their local agents (where relevant) and the international qualifications they are approved to deliver

i.   Government Accreditation Authorities (all sectors)

The Government Accreditation Authorities listed below are responsible for:

• in the schools sector - the accreditation of qualifications and approval/ registration of providers;
• in the vocational education and training sector - the accreditation of qualifications and approval/ registration of providers (including by delegation to the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations DEEWR in respect of national Training Package accreditation processes); and
• in the higher education sector - the accreditation of qualifications and registration of non self-accrediting institutions, the authorisation of certain institutions other than universities to accredit their own courses, approval of overseas institutions and the establishment of new universities (including university colleges and specialised universities).

The AQF guidelines and qualifications titles for the schools, vocational education and training and higher education qualifications reflect advice from, and are utilised by, these government authorities (noting local variations in titles in the schools sector).

Accreditation takes place against the nationally agreed characteristics of learning outcomes for each of the national qualifications, which are set out in detailed guidelines in the AQF Implementation Handbook.

Queries about the bona fides of an institution or provider and the AQF status of the qualifications offered, may be addressed to the contacts listed below.

ii   Australian Universities

Australian universities are established by or under relevant State, Territory and Commonwealth legislation and have authority to accredit their own courses, which may be accessed via the link to the institution homepage given below. The AQF guidelines for the higher education qualifications reflect advice from these institutions, as do the AQF qualification titles in widespread use by the other self-accrediting institutions in section iii below (together with a small number of local titles).

Australian Catholic University
Australian National University, The
Bond University
Central Queensland University
Charles Darwin University
Charles Sturt University
Curtin University of Technology
Deakin University
Edith Cowan University
Flinders University of South Australia, The
Griffith University
James Cook University of North Queensland
La Trobe University
Macquarie University
Monash University
Murdoch University
Queensland University of Technology
RMIT University
Southern Cross University
Swinburne University of Technology
University of Adelaide, The
University of Ballarat
University of Canberra
University of Melbourne, The
University of New England, The
University of New South Wales, The
University of Newcastle, The
University of Notre Dame, Australia, The
University of Queensland, The
University of South Australia
University of Southern Queensland
University of the Sunshine Coast
University of Sydney, The
University of Tasmania
University of Technology, Sydney
University of Western Australia, The
University of Western Sydney
University of Wollongong
Victoria University

iii.   Other Higher Education Institutions which are authorised by governments to accredit their own courses

Some higher education institutions other than universities are also authorised by government accreditation authorities to self-accredit their higher education courses. These institutions are not permitted to use the term 'university' in their title. Their self-accrediting authority may be limited to only some of the fields of study and/or levels of qualification they offer.

Four higher education institutions have self-accrediting authority at present under Commonwealth, State or Territory legislation. Details of their courses may be accessed via the link to the institution homepage given below:

Australian Film Television and Radio School
Australian Maritime College
Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education
Melbourne College of Divinity

In addition, during 2008 and future years a number of other institutions will be authorised by government higher education accreditation authorities to self-accredit some or all of their courses from time to time. The government authorities will maintain registers (to be accessible through the links below as the authorities reconstruct their on-line registers to identify those with self-accrediting status) containing details of the institutions, the scope of their self-accrediting authority and their courses. The information contained on these registers will be managed by the government higher education accreditation authority in each State or Territory.

Definitive advice on approved institutions and the scope of their self-accrediting authority should be obtained from the relevant government agency.

• Australian Capital Territory
  On-line Register

• Commonwealth
  No institutions currently accredited.

• New South Wales
  On-line Register

• Northern Territory
  On-line Register

• Queensland
  On-line Register

• South Australia
  On-line Register

• Tasmania
  On-line Register

• Victoria
  On-line Register

• Western Australia
  On-line Register

iv   Non self-accrediting higher education institutions and their AQF-approved qualifications

Higher education qualifications other than those offered by the universities and other self-accrediting institutions (see sub-categories (ii) and (iii)) are accredited by the various Commonwealth, State and Territory government higher education accreditation authorities (see sub-category (i)), which also formally approve the institutions. These authorities maintain registers of the institutions approved to issue accredited AQF qualifications.

For all States and Territories, these registers are on-line and a link to them is provided below. The information contained on these registers is managed by the higher education accreditation authorities and they are found on their respective websites. Definitive advice on approved institutions and accredited qualifications should be obtained from the relevant government agency.

• Australian Capital Territory
  On-line Register

• Commonwealth
  No institutions currently accredited.

• New South Wales
  On-line Register

• Northern Territory
  On-line Register

• Queensland
  On-line Register

• South Australia
  On-line Register

• Tasmania
  On-line Register

• Victoria
  On-line Register

• Western Australia
  On-line Register

v   Registered Training Organisations and their AQF-approved qualifications (VET sector)

In the vocational education and training (VET) sector, AQF qualifications are accredited through national Training Packages processes endorsed by the National Quality Council or accredited by the State and Territory Recognition Agencies. In addition, under the AQF, a Statement of Attainment may be issued by a Registered Training Organisation when an individual has completed one or more units of competency from nationally recognised qualification(s)/course(s)"'.

All approved providers/assessors, referred to as registered training organisations (RTOs) and their nationally recognised qualification(s)/courses are listed on a comprehensive national database - the National Training Information Service (NTIS). If a provider or qualification/course is not listed on this database, or for any other queries, contact should be made with the designated officer in your State or Territory as listed in sub-category (i) above, or with the AQFAB Secretariat.

vi.   Overseas higher education institutions approved to operate in Australia, their local agents (where relevant) and the international qualifications they are approved to deliver

States and Territories manage individual registers, which are on-line, and links to them will be provided below as these registers are developed for this category. The information contained on these registers is managed by the higher education accreditation authorities and they are found on their respective websites. Definitive advice on approved institutions and accredited qualifications should be obtained from the relevant government authority.