University Change 2025 – Students

On 20 December 2024, the Australian College of Theology (ACT) was registered as an Australian University, as announced by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) on 8 January 2025.

What will change now?

Our name (and logo): Australian University of Theology (AUT)

Our domain name (and email addresses): www.aut.edu.au

Our constitution and titles: The Board of Directors will become the Council, the Chair will become the Chancellor, the Dean will become the Vice-Chancellor.

People about to graduate this year will have the new name and logo on their testamurs, transcripts and AHEGS.

Any past graduates who seek a re-issue of a testamur or transcript will receive documents which incorporate the new university name and logo.

Benefits for students in the future

After the University is added to Table B of HESA (which requires an Act of Parliament, so it may take a year or more, and will be affected by the upcoming election):

  • undergraduate students will no longer have to pay the government’s 20% loan fee on FEE-HELP loans for units undertaken after this change has been implemented.
  • The University will be eligible for government grants (e.g. Australian Research Council [ARC] grants) and will receive research funding based on the amount of research funding it receives (including from industry partners, like denominations) and the number of HDR completions.
  • Once the University begins receiving government grants (perhaps in two years), there may be increased scholarships for HDR candidates.

What won’t change?

Fees: There will be no fee increases due to our university status, although usual CPI increases may apply. Neither will there be fee decreases as, although we are a university, we are not eligible for Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs). However, in future, as noted above, undergraduate students using FEE-HELP will no longer be subject to the government’s 20% loan fee.

Standards: Our awards are already aligned with the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF)—there will be no change in the level of difficulty of units or the amount of work required.

I’m already an HDR candidate. Can I get a scholarship?

There will be no change in HDR scholarships at the moment. Scholarships will be considered further once we begin receiving government grants (perhaps in two years’ time).