Regulation and Quality assurance of higher education institutions in Australia

The higher education system in Australia is almost wholly publicly funded, comprising some 200 institutions, of which 39 are universities, usually referred to as self-accrediting institutions (SAIs). These have the facility to introduce new programs without seeking external approval; while the rest are non-self-accrediting institutions. The non SAIs are subject to external control including registration and program accreditation by the government accreditation authority (GAA) in the state or territory where they operate. The SAIs are audited by the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA), which includes checking the institutions´ systems for approving new programs. This paper will describe the Australian Higher Education Quality System and discuss the role of the Australian Quality Framework that includes the AUQA. The Audit processes conducted by the AQUA will be examined, followed by a presentation on the GAA. Other regulatory requirements and other influences, such as that of professional registration and accreditation bodies will be analysed. The final part of the paper will highlight recent developments including the setting up of a new Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) established by 2011, which will incorporate AUQA and its work, and take over the work of the state and territory GAAs; and the pros and cons of the new Agency will be discussed.