The AQF was introduced on 1 January 1995 and was phased in over five years, with full implementation by the year 2000. It was developed at the request of State, Territory and Commonwealth Education and Training Ministers meeting as the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA).
Governance of the AQF is through the AQF Council (previously the AQF Advisory Board), established to maintain, monitor and promote national implementation of the AQF.
Previous qualification structures
The AQF replaced the Register of Australian Tertiary Education (RATE) in 1995. Register of Australian Tertiary Education (RATE) 1991
Full information regarding the previous qualifications structures is available on the Australian Education International website http://aei.gov.au/AEI/CEP/Australia/EducationSystem/default.htm
Information about upgrading or recognition of previous qualifications may be available from the institution or provider that issued the earlier qualification.
Transition arrangements between the previous structures and the AQF were developed in 1995 and were valid during the transition period. Information is included in the document ‘AQF Transition Arrangements, 1995’ that was part of the AQF Implimentation Handbook 1st Edition.
Changes in the AQF
Changes to the AQF over the period 2000-2009 include:
2000-2001: review of the AQF Guidelines (in particular outcomes and pathways descriptors)
2001-2004: review of the AQF Guidelines on Articulation and Credit Transfer leading to the current National Guidelines on Cross-Sector Qualification Linkages and Recognition of Prior Learning: National Principles and Operational Guidelines for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
2003-2004: addition of Associate Degree (Handbook page 49-50), as a higher education qualification
2003-2004: review of the guidelines for the Senior Secondary Certificate of Education
1998-2005: Review of the sectoral status of the Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma leading to the addition of two new post-graduate vocational qualifications in the AQF (Vocational Graduate Diploma and Vocational Graduate Certificate)
2003-2004: Review of a 1997 AQF benchmark study of Recognition of Prior Learning policy and practice across States/Territories and the three sectors
2004: Expanded national guidelines on cross-sector linkages to include the schools sector
2005: Review of the Guidelines for Certificates I-IV, Diploma and Advanced Diploma
2007: New definition of the State of Attainment and protocols for certification
2007: Updated references to the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF)
2008: Changes to vocational education and training issuance policy with the inclusion of employability skills.