Higher education courses are those leading to the award of associate degree, bachelor degree, graduate certificate, graduate diploma, master's degree or doctoral degree. Some courses leading to the award of a diploma or advanced diploma may also be accredited as higher education.
The Act protects the use of higher education award titles in Queensland and provides for significant financial penalties for bodies offering higher education courses or conferring or claiming to confer higher education awards without the permission of the Minister for Education.
Accreditation provides certification that the standards of a course are appropriate to the award to which it leads and that the course and the methods adopted in delivering it are likely to achieve the stated outcomes.
The purpose of Queensland's accreditation process is:
The accreditation criteria and procedures are designed to ensure that higher education courses accredited by the Minister for Education are comparable in requirements and learning outcomes to courses at the same level in a similar field at Australian universities. To this end, they:
With the anticipated commencement of the National Framework on 1 July 2008, applications up until that date will be processed under the State-based Framework, Higher Education (General Provisions) Act 2003 
and the Guidelines for the Accreditation of Higher Education Courses offered by Non-University Providers 2007 (new window) 522k 
. Applications submitted after commencement of the National Framework will be processed according to the Higher Education (General Provisions) Act 2008. Please refer to the relevant sections below.
It is anticipated that the new Higher Education (General Provisions) Act 2008 (the new Act) will commence on 1 July 2008, allowing for implementation in Queensland of the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes (new window) 379k and the National Guidelines for Higher Education Approval Processes — Guidelines for the registration of non self-accrediting higher education institutions and the accreditation of their course/s (relating to National Protocols A and B) (new window) 836k (the National Guidelines), both approved by the Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). When the new Act and the relevant new Fee Regulation are both formally approved to commence, links will be available here.
Applications for registration of non self-accrediting institutions and course accreditation must be completed using the relevant submission templates and application form listed below if submitted after commencement of the new Act.
If you wish to apply for approval in Queensland as another type of higher education institution, please contact the Office of Higher Education regarding the relevant submission templates that are required. The National Guidelines relating to other types of higher education institutions can be found below.
The criteria and application process for a non-university provider seeking to deliver a course leading to a higher education award is outlined briefly below and is also described in the document Guidelines for the Accreditation of Higher Education Courses offered by Non-University Providers (new window) 522k . These Guidelines are made pursuant to the Higher Education (General Provisions) Act 2003. A provider may also apply to deliver their courses overseas. The requirements for Ministerial approval are outlined in the Guidelines for Transnational Delivery of Higher Education Courses offered by Non-University Providers. (new window) 47k
Applications for accreditation of higher education courses must be made in writing to the Office of Higher Education. The application must be accompanied by the relevant application fee per course and a completed and signed application form (new window) 154k . (Adobe Reader version 7.0.5 or later required) An application will include a submission document addressing each of the criteria for accreditation and provide evidence that the criteria are or will be satisfied.
Before accrediting a higher education course, the Minister for Education must be satisfied that the course and the way of delivering it, is appropriate to the type of award that is to be conferred. The Minister must also be satisfied that the provider has the resources and financial capacity to deliver the course.
The provider must provide detailed information on its organisational infrastructure and demonstrate that it is appropriate to support a course at higher education level.
The Office of Higher Education will request access to detailed financial information to determine whether the institution has financial resources and business systems sufficient to enable the delivery of the course for the period of accreditation. The information will be subject to scrutiny by an independent expert.
The course must satisfy the guidelines for the proposed qualification as outlined in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) , and be comparable in standard and educational value to a course leading to a similar award in a university.
The general educational practices and standards of the provider, and the processes adopted for monitoring the operation of the educational program, must also be adequate to maintain the offering of the course.
An independent expert course assessment panel is appointed by the Minister for Education to examine the application. The panel consists of members with a breadth of knowledge and expertise relevant to the fields of study being considered, a depth of experience in the design and delivery of higher education courses, and of sufficient academic standing to have a high degree of credibility in the academic and general communities.
The panel reports to the Minister on whether the course and the way of delivering it is appropriate to the type of award that is to be conferred, and the provider has the resources and financial capacity to deliver the course.
To do this, the panel will consider the submission documentation supplied by the applicant and visit the proposed delivery site. During this site visit, the panel will meet with the institution's representatives, interview key academic and administrative staff and students, inspect the facilities necessary for the course, and seek any further information relevant to the assessment.
Upon completion of the assessment process, the panel prepares a report which contains an overview of the findings, comments and recommendations of the panel. The applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the report.
Following consideration of the report and the applicant's comments, the Minister may accredit the course, with or without conditions attached to the approval, or refuse accreditation.
Accreditation may be for a period of up to five years, but shorter periods may be recommended if considered appropriate. The course is subject to reaccreditation at the end of the approval period.
Reaccreditation is linked to the annual reporting process to allow for a lesser focus on inputs and a greater focus on outcomes and future developments. In other words, a picture will have evolved through the annual report process that is summarised by providers in their Reaccreditation Reports. Key issues will have been identified and addressed through the annual reporting process, which can inform this summary.
The application process for reaccreditation is the same as for initial accreditation and includes the submission of complete documentation, addressing all the criteria for accreditation. This provides the 'benchmark' for the subsequent reaccreditation process, and for evaluating any major changes during the period of accreditation. In addition, and most importantly, applicants for reaccreditation must supply a Reaccreditation Report. This report will be the document the assessment panel concentrates on and should provide information compiled from Annual Reports, and evidence that:
Interstate non-university providers intending to offer a course in Queensland that is already accredited in their home jurisdiction, can apply for accreditation in Queensland through a mutual recognition process. The mutual recognition process acknowledges the accreditation of the course and some aspects of the provider by the other jurisdiction. Course assessment panels will accept the accredited status in another jurisdiction as evidence that certain accreditation criteria are satisfied, and will only need to evaluate criteria relation to delivery of the course in Queensland.
Applicants will still need to submit a complete application, including full documentation of the course and arrangements for its delivery, to the Office of Higher Education.
As a general rule, applicants should allow at least ten months from their submission of an application to a decision being made by the Minister for Education. An additional 3 - 6 months lead time should be allowed for marketing of the course subsequent to accreditation approval.
In general, an applicant should propose to offer a course for the first time approximately 18 months after submission of an application for accreditation. In planning for the introduction of new courses, applicants should also be aware of the following:
Until the Minister has formally accredited a course, applicants must not offer the course, including through advertisements and on websites.
Applicants in the process of accreditation should refrain from making any public statement or advertisement that falsely implies a course is accredited, or that the applicant is authorised to confer the award, until the Minister has formally granted accreditation of a course. This includes advertising or promoting a course as 'subject to approval'. The Act contains penalties for offering or advertising the offering of a course or the conferring of an award before it has been accredited. The provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1989 may also apply.
All non-university providers of higher education courses in Queensland must report annually to the Minister on their accredited course or courses, and the way of delivering them. The annual reporting process provides an avenue for monitoring provider activities between accreditation and reaccreditation processes, and is linked integrally to the reaccreditation process. Annual reporting is also a useful and timely mechanism for providers to:
A national annual reporting template is being developed for ease of reporting, particularly for those providers delivering in more than one Australian jurisdiction.
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© The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and the Arts) 2001.