Accreditation is the evaluation of tertiary engineering courses or programs to determine whether they produce graduates who meet international benchmarks to practise.
In Australia, Engineers Australia is the approved accreditation body for engineering education. Through its Australian Engineering Accreditation Centre, Engineers Australia evaluates engineering courses against the entry-to-practice competencies for the levels of professional engineer, engineering technologist and engineering associate.
Australian tertiary education providers can request to have their engineering courses or programs accredited by Engineers Australia. This voluntary step enables tertiary institutions to offer a superior, internationally-recognised educational product to students. Read the current list of accredited programs.
Engineers Australia applies the criteria set out in the 2019 Accreditation Management System for all accreditations.
Provisional accreditation
As accreditation is outcomes-based, if an engineering course or program hasn’t yet produced a sufficient number of graduates, it may be granted provisional accreditation. This means the program meets the accreditation criteria to the extent possible at the time of the evaluation and will likely receive full accreditation when a representative group of graduates have emerged.
Education courses or programs must be fully-accredited to be recognised under the international accord agreements. Provisionally-accredited programs aren’t recognised.
What are the international accords?
Accredited Australian engineering programs are universally-recognised through international accords and mutual recognition agreements. These accords and agreements set the international benchmark for education programs and competencies.
Engineers Australia is a full signatory to all three accords of the International Engineering Alliance. These accords cover the three occupational categories:
- Washington Accord – Professional engineer
- Sydney Accord – Engineering technologist
- Dublin Accord – Engineering associate.
What are accredited qualifications?
An accredited qualification is one that’s recognised by one of the accords.
To see if your qualification is accredited visit the International Engineering Alliance qualification checker. Select the country where you obtained your qualification from the drop-down list and then choose the relevant accord.
Qualifications from before 1980
If you have an unlisted Australian qualification from before 1980 and want to become a member, our assessment team can help determine if your qualification is accredited. Email our assessment team and explain what you’d like to do.
Non-accredited qualifications
If your qualification isn’t recognised by one of the accords, it’s known as an unaccredited or non-accredited qualification. Both Australian and overseas qualifications can be non-accredited.
Non-accredited qualifications are:
- Australian or overseas qualifications that aren’t accredited under one of the accords
- not approved or recognised by Engineers Australia.
This means that you’ll firstly need to complete an entry to practice competency assessment (stage 1) if you want to:
- become a member of Engineers Australia
- eventually be registered on the National Engineering Register (NER) or be assessed for eligibility for state registration
- eventually become Chartered.
If you’re applying to migrate to Australia, you’ll need to complete a migration skills assessment. A migration skills assessment demands stricter evidence to meet government migration requirements. A successful migration skills assessment also enables you to become a member and register on the NER.
To learn more about accreditation or the international accords, contact us.
Engineers Australia accredited programs
A comprehensive list of Engineers Australia accredited engineering programs from Australian tertiary and VET education providers. This list is updated regularly.