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The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) specifies the standards for educational qualifications in Australia. It is administered nationally by the Australian Government's
Department of Industry Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country ...
, with oversight from the States and Territories, through the Standing Council of Tertiary Education Skills and Employment. While the AQF specifies the standards, education and training organisations are authorised by accrediting authorities to issue a qualification.


AQF levels

The Framework is structured around levels of descriptive criteria, with formal qualifications aligned to the appropriate levels.


Schools sector


Senior Secondary Certificate of education

The Senior Secondary Certificate of Education (SSCE) is the graduation certificate awarded to most students in Australian high schools, and is equivalent to the Advance Placement of North America and the
A-Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...
of the United Kingdom. Students completing the SSCE are usually aged 16 to 18 and study full-time for two years (years 11 and 12 of schooling). In some states adults may gain the certificate through a
Technical and Further Education Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational co ...
college or other provider. The curriculum, assessment and name of the SSCE is different in each state and territory. The government of each determines these themselves, although the curriculum must address mutually agreed national competencies. Universities Australia generates a nationally standardised final score for each SSCE student called the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank. Universities and other Higher Education providers typically use this mark as the main criterion in selecting domestic students. Prior to 2010, this was called the Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER) in Victoria, and the University Admissions Index (UAI) in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, and the Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) elsewhere. Competing qualifications outside the Australian Qualifications Framework are the
International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...
(IB) and '' Accelerated Christian Education(ACE) Year 12 Academic Certificate.'' The IB is well accepted by universities. ACE has lesser support, and students may also have to additionally pass a Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).


Vocational Education and Training and Higher Education sectors

There has been growing overlap between the
Vocational Education and Training Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an i ...
(VET), organised under the National Training System, and Higher Education sectors in Australia. Courses are primarily taken by those aged over 18, however in some vocational and general academic courses a minority of students enter at the minimum school-leaving age of 16, although from May 2009 Federal Government policy calls for young people to be in education, gainful employment, or training until age 17 (Year 12 qualification) with tightening of income support payments to age 20 if not undertaking further training. This tends to happen particularly at
Technical and Further Education Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational co ...
colleges (TAFE), and is less likely to happen at a university or a private institution. The two sectors form a continuum, with VET at the lower end and Higher Education at the higher. VET courses are typically short, practical in nature and delivered by a TAFE college or Registered Training Organisation at a
certificate Certificate may refer to: * Birth certificate * Marriage certificate * Death certificate * Gift certificate * Certificate of authenticity, a document or seal certifying the authenticity of something * Certificate of deposit, or CD, a financial pr ...
to diploma level. Higher Education courses take three years or longer to complete, are academic in nature and are delivered by universities at degree level. There is significant overlap, however; a TAFE college may offer degrees and universities may offer certificates and diplomas. A number of private institutions and community education centres cover the full range of qualifications. There has been a strong push towards mutual recognition of qualifications, with VET or Higher Education courses recognised towards other courses (and for those under 21 towards an SSCE). A process of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) has been implemented to allow competencies gained through work and other experience to be assessed and recognised. For instance, a ''Diploma of Agriculture'' might be recognised as the equivalent of the first year of the ''Bachelor of Agricultural Science'' degree; a unit of ''Letter Writing'' in a ''Certificate IV of Writing'' might be recognised as a unit towards a ''Bachelor of Business'' degree; experience in aged care might be recognised towards a ''Certificate in Community Services''. All students doing nationally recognised training need to have a Unique Student Identifier (USI).


Certificates I–IV

Certificates I–IV are the basic qualifications and prepare candidates for both employment and further education and training. There is no firm duration for these qualifications. Entry for Certificate III and Certificate IV courses requires the completion of Year 10 or Year 11 education, respectively. Certificates I–II provide basic vocational skills and knowledge, while Certificates III–IV replace the previous system of ''trade certificates'' and provide training in more advanced skills and knowledge. These courses are usually delivered by
TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...
colleges, community education centres and registered private training providers.


Diploma, Advanced diploma, Associate degree

Courses at Diploma, Advanced Diploma and
Associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. Th ...
level take between one and three years to complete, and are generally considered to be equivalent to one to two years of study at degree level. ''Diploma'' and ''Advanced Diploma'' are titles given more practical courses, while ''Associate degree'' is given to more academic courses. Entry into Diploma and Advance Diploma courses requires the completion of Year 12 education. These courses are usually delivered by universities, TAFE colleges, community education centres and private RTO's (Registered Training Organisations).


Bachelor degree and honours

The
Bachelor degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...
is the standard university qualification and is recognised worldwide. Most courses take three to four years to complete and are Level 7 qualifications.
Honours Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...
may be awarded on top of a bachelor's degree after an additional year of study for three-year degrees or, in the case of four-year degrees, for performance at credit or distinction average level. An Honours degree is a Level 8 qualification and is denoted by "Hons" in parentheses following the degree abbreviation, for example BA (Hons). Honours degrees requiring an additional year of study generally involve a research project and require the completion of a thesis during the optional fourth year of study. Traditionally these courses have almost exclusively been delivered by universities, however there is now a growing number of TAFE institutions and private colleges who have higher education status to deliver degree programs.


Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma

Graduate Certificate and Graduate diplomas are Level 8 qualifications alongside the Bachelor (Honours) degree. Entry to a Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma typically requires completion of a bachelor's degree or higher. In some cases, admission may be on the basis of significant work experience. Graduate Certificates typically take six months of full-time study to complete, while Graduate Diplomas take twelve months. These courses are usually delivered by universities and private providers.


Masters degree

A Master's degree usually requires two years of full-time study to complete. A completed bachelor's degree, sometimes with honours, is a prerequisite for admission. The pattern of study generally takes one of the following three forms: * ''Coursework'' – comprising postgraduate level rigorous academic coursework and project work. In some fields also consists of a research component and requires the completion of a thesis. In such fields, completion of only the coursework component without submitting a thesis usually results in a graduate diploma being awarded instead. * ''Research'' – comprising substantial research and completion of a major, externally assessed thesis. * ''Extended'' – for preparation for professional practice in fields such as law, medicine, physiotherapy, speech pathology, social work or other professional fields. Master's degree (extended) are permitted to deviate from the 'Master of ...' naming convention. Those in legal practice may use the name
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...
but the qualification does not allow a graduate use of the honorific title 'doctor'. Master's degree (extended) in medical practice, physiotherapy, dentistry, optometry and veterinary practice are allowed to be named 'Doctor of ...' or 'Master of ...', such as Doctor/Master of Dentistry, Doctor/Master of Optometry and Doctor/Master of Medicine, and graduates are permitted to use 'Doctor' (Dr.) as a
courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some con ...
where it is existing practice for that profession. Universities are not permitted to refer to these degrees as doctorates and must note on documentation such as transcripts that the qualification is a master's degree (extended). Master's level courses are delivered by universities and a limited number of registered private providers.


Doctoral degree

The highest qualification, a
doctoral degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' ...
is awarded by a university. This generally requires the completion of a major thesis, which has to be assessed externally by experts in the field of study. Additionally, there are professional doctorates, which require less research and are partially assessed by coursework or projects. Entry into an Australian doctorate program requires an honours degree with at least class 2A honours or a master's degree by research. Holders of doctoral degrees are permitted to use the title 'Doctor'.


Qualification issuing agencies

Whilst the AQF specifies the standards for qualifications, it is the education and training organisations that issue a qualification. Education and training organisations are authorised to issue qualifications by one of the following authorities.Australian Qualifications Framework. Second Edition 2013. P22
* State and territory government authorised statutory bodies responsible for issuing the Senior Secondary Certificate of Education in their own state or territory. * Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) authorised by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) and the government accrediting authorities in Victoria and
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...
to issue AQF qualifications in vocational education and training. * Non-self-accrediting higher education providers authorised by the
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) is Australia's independent national quality assurance and regulatory agency for higher education. The agency's purpose is to protect student interests and the reputation of Australia' ...
(TEQSA) to issue AQF qualifications in higher education. * Self-accrediting universities and higher education providers authorised by the
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) is Australia's independent national quality assurance and regulatory agency for higher education. The agency's purpose is to protect student interests and the reputation of Australia' ...
(TEQSA) to issue AQF qualifications in higher education. * The other users of the Specifications are industry and professional bodies, licensing and regulatory bodies, students, graduates and employers.


See also

*
Tertiary education in Australia Tertiary education in Australia is formal education beyond high school, consisting of both government and private institutions and divided into two sectors; vocational education and training (which includes TAFEs) and higher education (which incl ...
*
Technical and Further Education Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational co ...
* Certificate IV in TESOL


References


External links

*{{official website, http://www.aqf.edu.au/
Australian Qualifications Framework – Study in Australia
Australian tertiary institutions Universities in Australia Education in Australia