The Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) has released an updated Evidence Guide for the Accreditation of Programs (Evidence Guide), providing guidance to education providers on preparing evidence against the 2025 Accreditation Standards for Psychology Programs (Accreditation Standards).
The Evidence Guide supplements the Accreditation Standards by explaining the intent of each criterion and providing guidance on how providers can demonstrate that their programs meet the Accreditation Standards, while supporting students in achieving the graduate competencies. The guide provides flexibility in how providers can present their evidence and the types of evidence used.
What’s changed?
Following broad engagement with key stakeholders, APAC has made several updates to the Evidence Guide, including:
- Refining the introduction and assessment principles
- Introducing a list of key evidence and associated criteria
- Clarifying the intent, evidence examples and prompts for assessment of each criterion
- Removing the evidence elements section of each criterion
- Removing unnecessary duplication within criteria or overlap with guidance available from other regulatory bodies
Please note, additional guidance will be made available in APAC’s Towards Good Practice Guides which will be released progressively through the end of 2026.
Acknowledging sector contributions
APAC thanks the individuals and organisations who contributed their feedback and expertise throughout the review.
This includes consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander psychologists, academics and practitioners, alongside APAC assessors, on Domain 6: Cultural Safety, to support guidance that is Indigenous-informed, aligned with the intent of the Accreditation Standards and responsive to community expectations.
The updated Evidence Guide was approved by APAC’s Accreditation Assessment Committee (AAC) in September 2026.
The updated Evidence Guide for the Accreditation of Programs is now available on the APAC website. For more information on the review process or queries, please contact apac@apac.au.