The Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) is a not-for-profit organisation appointed by the Australian Government to assess university level psychological education and training in Australasia. APAC assesses and accredits undergraduate, honours and postgraduate psychology courses. To legally use the protected title of ‘psychologist’ requires the completion of APAC accredited courses and application to the Psychology Board of Australia.
APAC was formed in 2003 to set the national standards for the education and training of psychologists. APAC is independent from the government, Psychology Board of Australia and the Australian Psychological Society (APS). APAC is governed by a board of 8 directors comprising: 2 directors from the Psychology Board of Australia, 4 directors from the APS, 1 director from the Head of Department and School of Psychology Association and 1 director representing consumer and community interests.
APAC accredits 420 courses from 40 higher education providers in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. Accreditation lasts 5 years and involves a team of assessors making a site visit to the institution and assessing the course against the APAC Standards. All accredited higher education providers are required to submit an annual report on compliance with these Standards. In addition to the 5-yearly site visits conducted as part of the normal accreditation process, APAC routinely conducts audits on randomly selected universities, if an institution has made significant changes to its accredited programs or has credible information that an institution is not meeting required Standards.