AUQA conducts audits of:

1. all Australian self-accrediting higher education institutions (SAIs), including universities
2. Commonwealth, State and Territory accreditation authorities (‘accrediting agencies’) in Australia
3. Australian non self-accrediting institutions (NSAIs) approved as higher education providers (HEPs) under the Commonwealth Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA). These higher education providers may choose to be audited by AUQA or by another body named in the Higher Education Provider Guidelines under HESA, and
4. other higher education institutions under contract. The arrangements for quality audit of these institutions will be determined individually and set out in an agreement between AUQA and the auditee and/or other relevant bodies.

‘Quality audit’ is defined as ‘a systematic and independent examination to determine whether activities and related results comply with planned arrangements and whether these arrangements are implemented effectively and are suitable to achieve objectives’ (Standards Australia & Standards New Zealand Joint Technical Committee QR/7 1994). This definition has been adopted by AUQA as the foundation of its approach to audit.

In 2007, AUQA finished its first cycle of audits of SAIs and accreditation agencies. From 2008, it will conduct a second cycle of audits of existing SAIs, involving some changes to the scope and nature of the audits. The second cycle of audits of accrediting agencies will occur in 2010. AUQA will audit any new SAIs that are approved under the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes.

Details of AUQA’s audit methods are explained in the AUQA Audit Manual.  The latest version of the Audit Manual is available at: http://www.auqa.edu.au/qualityaudit/auditmanuals/.

AUQA’s audit method evaluates aspects of an institution’s quality assurance arrangements on the following dimensions: Objectives, Approach, Deployment, Results and Improvement, or OADRI. AUQA does not impose an externally prescribed set of standards upon auditees, but uses as its primary starting point for audit each organisation’s own objectives. AUQA considers the extent to which institutions are meeting these objectives, and how institutions monitor and improve their performance.

AUQA bases each audit on a critical self-review (also referred to as self-evaluation, self-audit or self-study) by the institution or agency subject to the audit. Such a self-review not only enables the auditee to supply the information required by AUQA, but also has the potential to lead to improvements even without AUQA’s involvement.

As well as a consideration of what a specific institution aims to achieve, effective quality assurance in higher education requires the use of external academic and professional points of reference. An institution’s academic work and its processes for guaranteeing the quality of that work must be responsive to the national and international contexts, as must the work of accrediting agencies.

A number of guidelines, codes of practice or codes of conduct relating to specific aspects of higher education have been promulgated by national or sectoral bodies. AUQA will enquire of an institution whether such guidelines have been adopted or adapted and investigate the extent to which the institution’s objectives in this regard are being met. AUQA will be looking for evidence that institutions have considered the purpose and intentions of the relevant external reference points and taken appropriate and effective action.

For Australian higher education providers, such external objectives include those set out in any Act or Regulation under which the institution is recognised, other relevant legislation, and the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes. The Australian Qualifications Framework is also an important element of the context in which Australian institutions operate. Accrediting agency objectives include the National Protocols and various other legislated requirements, while NSAI audits consider institutional performance against the institution’s objectives and a set of Quality Audit Factors as set out in the Department of Education, Science and Training’s Handbook for Quality Audits of Higher Education Providers.