The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) Commission has confirmed this week that the Australian College of Theology (ACT) will be registered in the Australian University category, making it Australia’s 44th university.
This has been a hard-won battle for ACT, following a lengthy and costly appeal process through the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to change ACT’s classification to an Australian University.
ACT first sought to become an Australian University of Specialisation as far back as 2016, with TEQSA taking three years to refuse the application in 2019. New provider categories were introduced in 2021 and ACT was made an Institute of Higher Education by TEQSA on 1 July 2021, but ACT appealed to the AAT on 9 July 2021. TEQSA subsequently made it a University College on 1 September 2022 while the appeal was in process.
The AAT decision was finally handed down on 11 October 2024, with the Tribunal satisfied that ACT met the conditions for registration as an Australian University.
As part of the decision, and in accordance with Section 39 of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (TEQSA Act), the Tribunal noted that TEQSA needed to consult with the responsible state and territory ministers. It has now done this, with no opposition to the change in provider status.
A net operating deficit in 2023 was attributed to the costs of the ongoing AAT appeal, according to ACT’s 2023 Annual Report. The Directors Report, dated March 2024, stated, “The ACT Board has made a strategic decision to pursue the AAT appeal as the benefits of being a University (with a specialised focus) are considered to outweigh the AAT costs in the long run”.
ACT is also a CRICOS-registered provider, although international students have only made up about three per cent of its student body since 2019. According to data tabled as part of the Senate Inquiry into the failed ESOS Amendment Bill, ACT had 2734 students in 2022, 69 of them international. Under the new Ministerial Direction 111, ACT has an indicative allocation for new international students of 15 in 2025.
ACT courses cover Theology, Ministry and Christian Studies.
