Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC)

What Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) does

Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) is an independent, not-for-profit company limited by guarantee that serves as Australia's sole accreditation authority for psychology programs of study at higher education providers. Founded in 2005 and based in Melbourne, APAC develops and maintains the Accreditation Standards, Evidence Guides, and Rules of Accreditation that define quality benchmarks for psychology education, working under contract with the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) within the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme.

APAC accredits 850+ programs of study across 42 higher education providers spanning all Australian states and territories, including Australian university programs delivered offshore in Malaysia and Singapore. Core service offerings include program accreditation assessments, on-site and virtual site visits, ongoing program monitoring, overseas qualifications assessment, and public accreditation status verification. Supporting products include a searchable program database, a redesigned Student-to-Staff Ratio Calculator (built with HODSPA), and stakeholder communications (bi-monthly newsletter, Talking APAC podcast, annual Community of Practice Conference).

APAC is funded entirely through accreditation fees charged to education providers on a five-year accreditation cycle, with multi-year contracts and per-program-sequence pricing. In November 2023 APAC transitioned to independent Board governance under a new constitution, and in December 2023 appointed David Ensor as CEO. The organization is currently operating under its 2023-2028 strategic plan and implementing the 2025 Alignment Accreditation Standards effective 1 December 2025.

Name

Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC)

Legal name

Australian Psychology Accreditation Council

Website

https://apac.au

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) is an independent not-for-profit that accredits 850+ psychology programs at 42 Australian higher education providers. It develops accreditation standards, conducts site visits, and monitors program quality under contract with the Psychology Board of Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Accreditation Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

akta.pro primary industry

Accreditation Evaluation, Peer Review & Site-Visit Organizations (EDADACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Accreditation Standards, Benchmarking & Framework Organizations (EDADACAJ), Online & Distance Education Quality Assurance Reviews (EDADAGAM)

Keywords

• Psychology program accreditation
• Higher education accreditation
• Professional standards
• Education quality assurance
• Accreditation assessment

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Accreditation fees: APAC generates revenue through fees charged to higher education providers for accreditation assessments. Fees cover accreditation for each program sequence across the five-year accreditation period. For re-accreditation or initial assessments, Level 1 undergraduate or Level 2 sequence assessments are charged once where sequences are identical. Additional fees apply per title and per campus for additional titles or existing programs at additional campuses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

APAC is an independent quality and standards organisation that develops and reviews accreditation standards for psychology programs of study at all higher education providers in Australia. The organisation assesses programs against Accreditation Standards via documentation reviews and on-site or virtual site visits, then refers outcomes to the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) for regulatory approval. APAC also operates ongoing program monitoring, overseas qualifications assessments, and stakeholder resources across a five-year accreditation cycle.

Product overview

APAC is an independent quality and standards organisation that develops and reviews accreditation standards for psychology programs of study at Australian higher education providers. The organisation operates a unified accreditation platform consisting of program accreditation services, standards documents (Accreditation Standards, Evidence Guide, Rules of Accreditation), assessment tools (Site Visit Assessments, SSR Calculator), and monitoring services. Supporting offerings include a searchable database of accredited programs, overseas qualifications assessment, stakeholder communications (newsletter, Talking APAC podcast), and annual conferences. APAC does not offer a public API but provides resources and tools for education providers, students, and the public to verify program accreditation status.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 42 higher education providers accredited across Australia
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Health Professions Accreditation Collaborative Forum (HPAC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2026APAC is one of 15 accrediting authorities comprising the HPAC Forum. The Board meets with HPAC's Executive Officer to discuss strategic matters and the current HPAC Strategic Plan. HPAC brings together health profession accreditation bodies to advance inter-professional education and collaboration.
• Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project (AIPEP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2026APAC approved a Memorandum of Understanding with AIPEP. AIPEP works on initiatives including decolonising psychology education, developing cultural responsiveness guidelines, and creating equity pathways for Indigenous applicants to psychology programs.
• TEQSA (Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 November 2022APAC signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with TEQSA, the national regulator for Australia's higher education sector. The agreement recognizes the value of cooperation between both organizations, exchanging ideas on policies and procedures with the goal of simpler processes and reduced regulatory pressure on higher education providers in the psychology discipline.
• Australian Psychological Society (APS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of three founder organisations of APAC. APS nominates directors to the APAC Board. APAC works with APS on various initiatives including cultural responsiveness working groups and student sponsorship programs.
• Heads of Departments and Schools of Psychology Association (HODSPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of three founder organisations of APAC. HODSPA represents heads of psychology departments and schools. APAC collaborates with HODSPA on initiatives including the Student-to-Staff Ratio Calculator redesign and stakeholder conferences.
• Indigenous Allied Health AustraliaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPAC is increasing knowledge through Indigenous Allied Health Australia's culturally responsive training as part of its commitment to cultural responsiveness and Indigenous engagement.
• Health Professions Accreditation Collaborative Forum Inter-professional Education ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPAC participates in the HPAC Forum inter-professional education project aimed at understanding how accreditation processes can improve collaborative skills in health profession graduates. The project holds online focus group discussions with educators, practitioners, and consumers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Council of Chiropractic Education Australasia (CCEA): Accredits chiropractic education programs in Australasia; comparable single-discipline health profession accreditor with the same fee-for-assessment revenue model as APAC.
• Australian Dental Council (ADC): Accredits dental practitioner programs in Australia; operates under the same National Registration and Accreditation Scheme as APAC and is a fellow HPAC Forum member.
• Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC): Direct peer under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme; accredits nursing and midwifery programs of study in Australia using a nearly identical model (standards, site visits, fee-based funding). APAC's new Accreditation Manager Sara Couch was previously ANMAC's Associate Director of Accreditation.
• Australian Pharmacy Council: Accredits pharmacy programs in Australia; direct counterpart to APAC for the pharmacy profession under the same regulator structure and HPAC Forum membership.
• Australian Medical Council (AMC): Accredits medical schools and specialist medical programs in Australia; same regulatory architecture and HPAC Forum co-member with APAC, serving the same higher education provider customer base.
• Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand (OCANZ): Accredits optometry programs in Australia and New Zealand; another HPAC Forum colleague with an analogous accreditation-services operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA): National regulator for Australia's entire higher education sector; APAC signed a 2022 MOU with TEQSA to coordinate on psychology discipline oversight, making it a partner-overlap incumbent rather than a direct competitor.
• Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA): Supports the 15 National Boards (including the Psychology Board of Australia) that contract APAC; an upstream governance body rather than a competitor, but materially shapes APAC's operating environment.

Regional players

• American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation: Accredits psychology doctoral and internship programs in the US and Canada; the largest international comparator for APAC's standards-setting and accreditation work.
• British Psychological Society (BPS): UK-based accreditor of psychology programs; analogous role for the British market and the most relevant international counterpart for cross-border psychology accreditation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/australian-psychology-accreditation-council

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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