Upcoming assessments

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.

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.

APAC accredits programs as a whole and while APAC does not accredit individual units, it is important to note that the accredited sequence (the required units) must be completed to satisfy the requirements of the APAC accredited program. APAC recommends contacting the education provider directly for advice to ensure that you have met all requirements.

The 10 year rule was specified as an entry requirement in the 2010 Standards for programs at fourth year and above. It has been removed from the entry requirements in the 2019 Accreditation Standards. Entry requirements for programs at Levels 1, 2, 3 or 4 are listed in the introductory comments for each level within the Accreditation Standards. The Accreditation Standards are a minimum threshold and education providers may set additional requirements above and beyond those set out in the Standards.

Where APAC accredits a program of study, it can grant this accreditation with or without conditions (prior to the introduction of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 (the National Law), the terms used were conditional accreditation and full accreditation). Where a program has been granted accreditation with conditions, this means that a shortfall against a standard has been identified and a condition is imposed against the standard to remedy that shortfall. In such circumstances, the education provider will be given a specified period of time within which it must meet those conditions – all conditions must be met before accreditation without conditions can be granted. A student who successfully graduates from a program of study which holds accreditation (either with or without conditions) at the time of their graduation is considered to have completed an APAC accredited program of study.