The Australian College of Theology (ACT) is an Australian higher education provider based in Sydney, New South Wales. The college delivers awards in ministry and theology. It is now one of two major consortia of theological colleges in Australia, alongside the University of Divinity. Over 23,000 people have graduated since the foundation of the college. On 7 October 2022 it was granted university college status by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. The current chair of the board is Roger Lewis. The current dean is James Dalziel, while the deputy dean is Edwina Murphy.

History

The college was established by the 1891 General Synod of the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania. The college was founded in order to provide for the "systematic study of divinity", especially among clergy and ordination candidates, there being no realistic opportunities for them to earn a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree at English universities and Australian universities refusing to offer theological education. The ACT is a national consortium of affiliated colleges with 17 theological and Bible colleges approved to deliver its accredited courses. Around 3,000 individual active students and research candidates, are enrolled in courses each year. The college became a higher education provider (HEP) under the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (Cth). As a HEP, the ACT administers the FEE-HELP program, by which students enrolled in accredited higher education courses of the ACT may receive a loan for their tuition fees. As of September 2007, the college is a company limited by guarantee. In addition, as a HEP under the Higher Education Support Act, the ACT was required to undergo a quality audit conducted by the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA). In November 2006, the college was the first non-self-accrediting HEP to be audited. The AUQA audit report was completed in January 2007 and publicly released on the AUQA website in February 2007. The process was repeated in 2011 and the college underwent a Cycle 2 quality audit by AUQA. The report of the audit was publicly released on the website of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency in March 2012. In 2010, the college received self-accrediting authority. This means that the college can accredit its own courses in theology and ministry within the scope of the self-accrediting authority specified by the Department of Education and Training in New South Wales. The college is currently accredited by TEQSA through till 2025. On 7 October 2022 it was granted university college status by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency.

Affiliated colleges

Courses

The courses of the college are accredited by the Australian College of Theology, under approval as a self-accrediting provider.

List of registrars and deans

There have been nine heads of the ACT, who were firstly known as registrar and now known as dean.

Notable alumni

Notable faculty and staff