To download a copy of both the current and revised National Protocols, please visit the MCEETYA website 
At the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA ) meeting in Brisbane on 6–7 July 2006, Ministers agreed to a revised set of National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes (National Protocols).
The revised National Protocols are due to be implemented from 31 December 2007 pending legislative change in the Commonwealth and all the States and Territories. The current set of National Protocols remain in force until then.
National guidelines providing additional details for the implementation of the revised National Protocols are due to be completed by June 2007.
The National Protocols were first agreed by MCEETYA in 2000, and regulate the recognition of new universities, the operation of overseas universities in Australia and the accreditation of courses offered by providers of higher education.
The revised National Protocols include a number of new provisions, which will allow more diverse types of higher education institutions to develop in Australia, including:
- Specialist universities: High quality higher education institutions meeting the same requirements as other universities, with the exception of breadth of fields of study. They will be required to offer courses including research masters and doctorates, and undertake research activity, in one or two fields of study only.
- Self-accrediting institutions other than universities: Selected non-self accrediting providers, usually with a strong track record in reaccreditation, will be able to seek authority to accredit their own courses.
- University colleges: This title will be protected under the revised National Protocols, reserved for use by new universities, which at point of establishment, need only undertake research and research training in one field. It may also be used by provisionally approved ‘greenfield’ institutions based on a plan, which would normally be mentored by an existing university.
- Overseas institutions: Clearer rules around entry and their use of university title will assist more overseas institutions to establish a presence here and offer their own qualifications, thereby increasing choice for students.
The revised National Protocols will apply to both new and existing institutions. Compliance will be regularly assessed through the standard quality assurance processes that apply to each institution.