In global terms, Australia provides one of the most highly regarded education systems for both domestic students and international students. There are over 1,200 institutions and 22,000 courses provided in every level of qualification, including High School, Vocational Education and Training (VET), Higher Education as well as long and short term English courses.
The education system in Australia is closely monitored by the Australian government through The Australian Qualification Framework (AQF). The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) is responsible for regulating Higher Education in Australia (http://www.teqsa.gov.au) and the Australian Skills Quality (ASQA) oversee the Vocational Education and Training (VET) Sector (http://www.asqa.gov.au).
The purpose of creating the AQF is to monitor and ensure that the standard and quality of the Australian education system is uniform across all states. The AQF can be divided into 10 levels:
- Level 1: Certificate I
- Level 2: Certificate II
- Level 3: Certificate III
- Level 4: Certificate IV
- Level 5: Diploma
- Level 6: Advanced Diploma and Associate Degree
- Level7: Bachelor Degree
- Level 8: Bachelor Honours Degree, Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma
- Level 9: Master Degree
- Level 10: Doctoral Degree
For further information regarding AQF levels, please refer to http://www.aqf.edu.au/aqf/in-detail/aqf-levels
Photo credit: The Northern Sydney Institute
