• Section 1 - Background Information
• Section 2 - Policy Statement
• Section 3 - Application of Policy
• Section 4 - Roles and Responsibilities
• Part A - Chair Selection Committee/Hiring Manager
• Part B - Staff Members
• Part C - Faculty/School
• Part D - People and Capability
• Section 5 - Verification or Certification of Qualifications
• Section 6 - Approvals
• Section 7 - Revisions made to this Policy
• Section 8 - Further Assistance
• Section 9 - Associated Information

Section 1 - Background Information

(1) This policy provides guiding principles which support the university to collect, verify and report the qualifications that staff declare they have completed and, in relation to academic staff, ensures that those who teach award courses have appropriate qualifications in the relevant discipline and are:

1. Qualified in at least one Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level higher than the course of study being taught; or
2. Deemed to have obtained "equivalent professional experience" in lieu of formal qualifications as specified in the Academic Staff Teaching Qualifications and Equivalent Professional Experience Policy and the Academic Staff Teaching Qualifications and Equivalent Professional Experience Procedure.

Section 2 - Policy Statement

(2) This policy supports the collection, verification and reporting of staff members qualifications and professional memberships.

(3) The collection and verification of qualifications for newly appointed staff members, and for existing staff members who have obtained a further and/or higher qualification, is a requirement and must be recorded on a staff member's employment record.

(4) The collection and verification of qualifications support the University's data submission requirement to the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE). The data submitted to DESE is used to inform the performance assessment against Clause 3.2 of the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021. The data is used to identify, where relevant, early career researcher status as applied in a range of University processes.

Section 3 - Application of Policy

(5) This policy applies to all new and current continuing, fixed-term, casual and sessional academic staff members of the University whether they are appointed directly or via a recruitment process.

Section 4 - Roles and Responsibilities

(6) The University is required to collect and verify qualifications and professional memberships that staff declare they have obtained.

(7) The following outlines the roles and responsibilities for ensuring the collection, verification and employment record updating for new and current staff member's qualifications, professional memberships and assessment of equivalent professional experience.

Part A - Chair Selection Committee/Hiring Manager

(8) Collection and verification of qualifications is a required step when appointing a new staff member to any position at the university and the responsibility of the Chair of the Selection Committee or Hiring Manager.

(9) It is the responsibility of the Chair of the Selection Committee and/or hiring manager to ensure that verified or certified copies of all qualifications declared by the new staff member are provided to People and Capability for updating their employment record.

(10) In accordance with the requirements of this policy no appointee should commence employment (including continuing, fixed-term, casual and sessional academic) in circumstances where qualifications have not been obtained, verified or certified.

Part B - Staff Members

(11) Prior to commencement, all new staff members including continuing, fixed-term, casual and sessional academic staff will be required to submit verified or certified copies of all qualifications and professional memberships declared by them.

(12) Current staff members are responsible for ensuring that their qualifications are recorded accurately against their employment record in accordance with this Policy.

(13) If a staff member makes a false statement or representation, and fraud or corruption activity is identified and confirmed, the University will follow its documented disciplinary procedures as outlined in the ACU Staff Enterprise Agreement 2022-2025, the Code of Conduct for Staff, Student Academic Integrity and Misconduct Policy, Managing Student Misconduct Procedure, Research Code of Conduct and the Research Complaints and Investigations Procedure.

Part C - Faculty/School

(14) Assessment of equivalence professional experience is undertaken by the relevant delegate within the Faculty / School in line with the Academic Staff Teaching Qualifications and Equivalent Professional Experience Policy and Academic Staff Teaching Qualifications and Equivalent Professional Experience Procedure.

Part D - People and Capability

(15) People and Capability will ensure all qualifications collected are verified and the required certified copies of the documentation have been provided. These will then be recorded in the University HRIS and the certified copies placed on the employment record. The date of conferral of qualifications (including PhDs) will also be recorded to support the identification of early career researchers. 

(16) People and Capability will communicate at least twice a year with all staff to ensure they review their recorded qualifications, and take the necessary steps to update their qualifications as outlined in this Policy.

(17) People and Capability provides the recoded qualifications data to meet external reporting requirements.

Section 5 - Verification or Certification of Qualifications

(18) Qualifications must be verified from a recognised source or an original copy of a copy certified by a Justice of Peace or a person as listed in the Statutory Declarations Regulations 2018 (Cth).

(19) Recognised sources for verification include:

1. My eQuals - Staff can access their certified qualification documents and share them securely with the University in the form of a secure link. My eQuals documents are available to students who graduated in 2018 and later.
2. Country Education Profiles (CEPs) - An online qualifications recognition tool designed to help organisations understand overseas higher education and post-secondary technical and vocational educational qualifications.
3. Awarding University or Institution - many Universities and Institutions provide online services to access a detailed transcript with the graduate's authorisation.

(20) Certification of a photocopy of an original qualification can be submitted. The certification includes a declaration that the original qualification has been sighted by either a Justice of Peace or a person listed in the Statutory Declarations Regulations 2018 (Cth), the Nominated Supervisor or a representative of People and Capability at the University. The certification must include written notation as follows: "I certify that this is a true copy of the original documents sighted by me", with their signature, name, position, address and contact phone number, and date. An original copy of the certification must be provided to People and Capability for recording on the employment record.

Section 6 - Approvals

(21) All decisions in relation to the application of this policy must be in accordance with the Delegations of Authority Policy and Register.

Section 7 - Revisions made to this Policy

(22) The revision table includes revisions up until this document was migrated into the new policy system. Any later revisions will show in the Status and Details tab. 

(23) The University may make changes to this policy from time to time to improve the effectiveness of its operation. In this regard, any staff member who wishes to make any comments about this policy may forward their suggestions to the Chief People Officer.

(24) Unless otherwise indicated, this policy will still apply beyond the review date.

Section 8 - Further Assistance

(25) A staff member who requires assistance in understanding this policy should first consult their nominated supervisor who is responsible for the implementation and operation of these arrangements in their work area. Should further information or advice be required staff should visit Service Central.

Section 9 - Associated Information

(26) For related legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines and any supporting resources please refer to the Associated Information tab.