Program status
Accredited programs
Statuses
Under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009, programs must first be accredited by APAC before they can be approved by the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) as suitable programs of study for the purpose of registration as a psychologist.
Currently active APAC accredited programs, recently discontinued and programs in teach out are listed on this website.
Types of program statuses
Programs may be granted the following status:
This status will be granted when the program meets all the relevant Standards.
A program is determined as accredited with conditions when:
- it meets most of the Accreditation Standards, and those not met at the time of assessment are likely to be met within the time specified by APAC. A determination of accreditation with conditions will be accompanied by a list of conditions to be addressed and a date by which those conditions must be addressed.
- if a higher education provider (HEP) makes changes to its program and/or its supporting resources after the accreditation process such that the program no longer meets the Standards, and the Standards not met at the time of assessment are likely to be met within the time specified by APAC.
If a program was previously listed and has since been removed, the HEP has notified APAC that the program has been discontinued and accreditation for this program can end. Programs that are being taught out and no longer accepting enrolments or that are discontinued remain listed on the APAC website for a period before being removed.
A list of APAC accredited programs of study can be found using the search for a program page. If you are unable to locate your program on this page, you may complete the academic transcript check form to find out if your program of study was accredited at a specified period.
This is determined if the accreditation period has come to an end and no application has been made and assessment for reaccreditation has been undertaken, or an application for reaccreditation has been made after the expiry of the accreditation period and the program has not been assessed for re-accreditation.
An APAC audit of a HEP’s program determines that meeting the Standards has not been maintained, and the Standards not met at the time of audit are likely to be successfully addressed within the time specified by APAC.
This applies when a previously accredited program no longer meets the Standards.
This will be determined if a new application for accreditation or an application for re-accreditation is assessed as unsuccessful in gaining accreditation without conditions or accreditation with conditions.
Programs undergoing assessment
If a program is currently undergoing assessment by APAC because the education provider has submitted an application for accreditation, it will not be listed until a determination has been made at completion of the assessment.
In this instance, APAC is unable to publish any information until the assessment process is complete and if the program is accredited, it will be listed at that time.
Information for students
A status of accreditation with conditions is no different to accreditation without conditions with regard to a student seeking provisional registration, completing further study and then seeking general registration.
If an APAC accredited program of study is accredited without conditions and changes to accredited with conditions, there are no implications for students as accreditation is retained.
Therefore, a student who successfully graduates from a program of study which holds APAC accreditation (either with or without conditions) at the time of their graduation is considered to have completed an APAC accredited program of study.
Publication of accreditation status
APAC maintains a publicly available list of all current APAC accredited programs of study on its website. HEPs are to take care when using APAC accreditation to promote APAC accredited programs outside of Australia, particularly in relation to the requirements to practice in Australia.
The list identifies the current accreditation status and will be amended to reflect any changes to these statuses for all accredited programs of study.
We also publish a summary accreditation assessment report which consists of the outcomes of each cycle re-accreditation and out of cycle initial accreditation assessments that we conduct.
The PsyBA publishes all approved HEPs and programs of study on its website as required under Section 49(5) of the National Law.
Frequently asked questions
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Are online programs also APAC accredited?All programs listed on this website are APAC accredited, whether they are online and/or on campus. The search for a program page contains all of the current APAC accredited programs of study, including programs that may be offered via an off-campus mode (either partially or fully). The programs offered via an online mode are indicated in the search results. Some online programs are offered fully online or in mixed mode and as such, APAC recommends you contact the education provider directly to enquire if there are any on campus requirements.
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Do you recognise offshore psychology programs?The Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) does not recognise programs that are delivered entirely outside of Australia on its register of approved programs. This includes overseas-based programs that have been accredited by APAC. The PsyBA considers that approval of programs delivered entirely outside Australia is beyond the scope of its regulatory functions, which are generally limited to Australia. Students who have completed an APAC accredited undergraduate program overseas and wish to apply for entry to an Honours or higher degree program in Australia should make an application directly to their preferred higher education provider. The higher education provider is responsible for determining the admission requirements for their program. Students who have completed an APAC accredited program overseas and wish to apply for entry into the 4+2 or 5+1 internship program or register as a psychologist in Australia should make an application to the PsyBA. For further information, please refer to the overseas qualifications page.
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How does a program of study become APAC accredited?The typical accreditation process includes:
- an education provider must lodge a submission for accreditation to APAC in the year before it wishes the program of study (course, degree) to be assessed against the Accreditation Standards and approved by the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA).
- after receiving and making an initial assessment of the submission, APAC may decide a site visit is required. The purpose of a site visit is to verify the information provided in the submission and to allow for a report of the assessment to be prepared.
- an accreditation assessment report is prepared based on the submission findings and if applicable, the site visit observations.
- the report then follows a due process where it is considered by the APAC Accreditation Assessment Committee and subsequently, the APAC Board. Upon a final determination made by the APAC Board, correspondence is sent to the education provider and the PsyBA.
- the PsyBA will then decide whether to approve or refuse each program of study as a program which falls within the pathway to register as a psychologist in Australia.
- APAC accreditation is typically followed by a cyclical period of accreditation for five years. During the period of accreditation, under section 50 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009, APAC is also required to monitor programs that it accredits. All monitoring processes are outlined in APAC’s monitoring framework.
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If a program is accredited with conditions, how can I find out what the conditions are?APAC publishes reports on the accreditation reports page that summarise the key accreditation assessment findings following each assessment it conducts. However, to obtain the full details of the conditions of accreditation imposed on a program, you should contact the relevant education provider.
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What is the difference between APAC accreditation and Psychology Board of Australia approval?The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 (National Law) requires a program to be both accredited by APAC and approved by the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) to be considered as a qualification suitable for the purpose of registration as a psychologist in Australia. Accreditation refers to the review process of psychology programs for quality assurance and quality improvement against the Accreditation Standards. Approval refers to the process of assessment by the PsyBA of an APAC accredited program to determine if it meets the PsyBA’s requirements for the purpose of registration as a psychologist in Australia under the National Law.
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Video transcript