To offer higher education in Queensland, the institution must be:
In each case, the process involves an independent review of the institution and its proposed higher education courses to assure the public and the higher education community that they meet or exceed the stated criteria of educational quality and are equivalent in standard to the higher education offered by existing institutions.
Most higher education in the State is delivered by universities, which are authorised by individual university legislation to be the accrediting authority for the higher education awards that they confer. A number of non self-accrediting higher education institutions and overseas institutions are also authorised by the State to offer higher education courses and confer higher education awards in Queensland.
The Minister for Education and Training, the Honourable Geoff Wilson MP, is responsible for protecting the use of the term 'university' and for recommending to the Queensland Parliament, bodies to be authorised to operate in the State as universities.
The Minister is also responsible for:
The Queensland Office of Higher Education manages the executive support to assist the Minister in the role of approving authority.
For further information about the approval process, contact the Office of Higher Education.
The Higher Education (General Provisions) Act 2008 and the Higher Education (General Provisions) Regulation 2008 set out the Minister's approval responsibilities. The legislation contains significant penalties for using the term 'university' and protected higher education award titles without the Minister's authorisation.
A copy of the Act and the Regulation may also be obtained by contacting the Higher Education team using the details above.
Approval processes are based on the principle of assurance of academic quality through independent peer review.
Meeting as a course/university assessment panel, leading academics, practitioners and industry professionals participate in an evaluation of a proposed university or higher education course in order to make a recommendation to the Minister about approval.
This process provides assurance to the public that higher education awards in Queensland are consistent with national standards.
Fees are payable for higher education approval processes under the legislation and are detailed in the Regulation. Fees are set to recover partial costs of approval processes.
For applications for registration of non self-accrediting higher education institutions and accreditation of courses, and approval for overseas higher education institutions to operate in Queensland, there is an application fee which must accompany the application.
In addition, there is an examination fee per course, payable when the assessment process commences. The amount of this fee varies, depending on the level of the course proposed, and the type of application.
Please refer to the Higher Education (General Provisions) Regulation 2008 
.
A person who is aggrieved by a decision of the Minister in relation to a higher education approval matter may appeal against the decision to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) .
All States and Territories of Australia have developed criteria and procedures on which higher education approval processes are based.
These are in accordance with the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes , which are designed to ensure consistent criteria and standards for higher education approval processes across Australia. Provided by the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs, the National Protocols are a key element in the national quality framework for higher education.
Another key element of the national quality assurance framework for higher education is the Australian Universities Quality Agency , which has the primary role of carrying out quality audits of Australian universities and State accreditation agencies.
In 2001, the Agency carried out an audit of the accreditation functions of the Queensland Office of Higher Education. The audit was a trial for the Agency to test its processes and procedures.
The audit process was rigorous nonetheless and produced an audit report 
142k containing a series of commendations and recommendations.
The Office participated in a scheduled audit by AUQA in 2005 179k. As a result of the audit the Queensland Office of Higher Education submitted a progress report 
67k to AUQA in October 2007 in response to the recommendations and affirmations from the audit. The Queensland Office of Higher Education will be audited in September 2010.
The Higher Education Approvals and Regulation Team periodically distributes an information bulletin to keep higher education institutions updated on relevant initiatives, changes and general issues affecting the higher education sector.
The most recent bulletins can be found below:
Bulletin - January 2010 67k (Government Reforms 72k)
This page was last reviewed on 02 Jun 2010
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© The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and Employment) 2010.