The undergraduate certificate AQF qualification type, introduced in May 2020 as an emergency response to the pandemic and due to expire on 30 June 2025, is now permanent. Commonwealth, state and territory education and skills ministers agreed to keep it in the Australian Qualifications Framework without a sunset date, and TEQSA can accredit undergraduate certificate courses beyond the old deadline. For private providers it is the shortest AQF-recognised higher education award available and the most natural vehicle for a credit-bearing micro-credential.
This article covers where the qualification came from, where it sits in the framework, how TEQSA accredits it and what it costs, and how providers are using it. It draws on fifteen years of TEQSA course accreditation work, including the first wave of undergraduate certificates accredited in 2020.
Where the undergraduate certificate came from
In the first months of the pandemic the Commonwealth wanted short, cheap, higher education courses that displaced workers could complete in six months, and the AQF had no qualification type to carry them. Ministers created the undergraduate certificate in May 2020 as a temporary measure, with a defined volume of learning of half a year of full-time study and learning outcomes drawn from AQF level 5, 6 or 7 depending on the course.
The design was deliberately unusual. Rather than adding a new AQF level, the undergraduate certificate borrows the outcomes of an existing level and packages them in a shorter volume, which is why it must be built from units that form part of, or lead into, a full qualification at that level. TEQSA's provider guidance on undergraduate certificate accreditations records that the specification was originally available from May 2020 to 30 June 2025 and that awards had to be conferred by that date unless ministers extended it.
The decision to make it permanent
The sunset was the problem. Providers were accrediting courses that would expire with the qualification type, students were being told their award had a limited shelf life, and TEQSA could not renew accreditations it had no authority to extend. Ministers resolved it by agreeing to make the undergraduate certificate a permanent part of the AQF, and TEQSA announced on its undergraduate certificate extension page that it could now accredit courses beyond 30 June 2025 and would contact providers with expiring accreditations.
For providers the practical consequences are three. Existing accreditations that were tied to the sunset can be renewed on the ordinary cycle. Student-facing information that described the award as time-limited must be corrected under Standard 7.1. And course design can now treat the undergraduate certificate as a stable exit point rather than an experiment.
Where the undergraduate certificate AQF placement falls
The AQF levels run from level 1 to level 10, with higher education beginning at the level 5 diploma and rising through the level 7 bachelor degree to the level 10 doctorate. The undergraduate certificate AQF placement is not a level of its own. It is a qualification type whose learning outcomes must be pitched at level 5, 6 or 7, with the level determined by the qualification the certificate's units belong to.
That has consequences for course design. A provider cannot accredit an undergraduate certificate as a free-standing short course with its own outcomes; the units must be drawn from, and creditable towards, an accredited diploma, associate degree or bachelor degree. Assessors read the credit arrangements closely, and an undergraduate certificate whose units do not map cleanly into the parent qualification will draw a request for further information on Standard 1.2 as well as 1.4.
How TEQSA accredits it and what it costs
For a provider without self-accrediting authority the undergraduate certificate is accredited in the same way as any other course, against the Threshold Standards, with the parent qualification's accreditation as context. TEQSA's application-based fees for 2026 list the undergraduate certificate at $300 for the preliminary assessment and $1,300 for the substantive assessment when accredited alongside initial registration, a fraction of the $6,000 and $44,700 charged for a full course. Providers already registered should check the current schedule for the applicable fee, as TEQSA revises fees periodically on a cost-recovery basis.
In my experience the accreditation is quick when the parent qualification is already accredited and the units are simply repackaged, and slow when the provider tries to introduce new units, new staff or new delivery modes through the certificate. The regulator treats the undergraduate certificate as a subset of an existing award, and the fastest application presents it that way.
The undergraduate certificate as a micro-credential vehicle
The National Microcredentials Framework published by the Department of Education describes micro-credentials as short, certified learning that may or may not carry credit. The undergraduate certificate is the AQF's answer to the credit question. A provider can offer a six-month, AQF-recognised, FEE-HELP-eligible award that stacks directly into a degree, which is more than most micro-credentials can claim. Our articles on micro-credentials and stackable learning under TEQSA and on micro-credential models in higher education set out the design options.
The limit is the one built into the qualification. An undergraduate certificate is a slice of a degree, so it cannot be used to certify skills the degree does not teach. Providers looking for a vehicle for industry-designed short courses outside their accredited scope will need the non-award route described in our overview of the rise of micro-credentials.
What I would do with it now
I would review every undergraduate certificate accredited since 2020 for currency, correct the student information, and decide whether it still serves a purpose. Then I would look at each accredited bachelor degree and ask whether its first semester could stand alone as an entry point. Permanence makes the undergraduate certificate AQF qualification worth designing around rather than merely tolerating.
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Frequently asked questions
Is the undergraduate certificate a permanent AQF qualification?
Yes. It was introduced in May 2020 as a temporary measure due to expire on 30 June 2025, and education and skills ministers subsequently agreed to make it a permanent qualification type in the AQF.
What AQF level is the undergraduate certificate?
It does not have a level of its own. Its learning outcomes are pitched at AQF level 5, 6 or 7, according to the diploma, associate degree or bachelor degree from which its units are drawn.
How long is an undergraduate certificate?
The volume of learning is half a year of full-time equivalent study, typically four units drawn from an accredited higher education qualification.
Does TEQSA charge to accredit an undergraduate certificate?
Yes. The 2026 schedule lists $300 for the preliminary and $1,300 for the substantive assessment when accredited with initial registration. Registered providers should check the current schedule for the fee that applies to them.
Dr Brendan Moloney is CEO of Darlo Higher Education, Australia's largest specialist TEQSA consultancy. He holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne, is a Cambridge University Press author on governance in higher education, and has advised private providers on registration and course accreditation for more than fifteen years.