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Course Endorsements
Course Endorsements
The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) has a long-standing history of providing quality education for nurses in Australia. As an accredited provider of education ACN has expertise in developing and reviewing education specifically targeted at meeting the needs of the nursing profession. In addition, our strong academic governance structure ensures all our programs are quality assured.
ACN is pleased to provide our endorsement service for courses or professional development activities aimed at enhancing the knowledge of the health and nursing professions leading to improved health outcomes for our community.
Why choose ACN Course Endorsements?
Be recognised for quality nursing education
Quality assured against ACN Standards
To achieve ACN Course Endorsement, your course must demonstrate compliance with the ACN Course Endorsement Standards, which are aligned with the following professional and educational frameworks:
Eligible activity to qualify
To be eligible for ACN Course Endorsement the activity needs to enhance nursing knowledge, skills and abilities through active learning. The endorsement standards and process were designed to be flexible to the different modalities that nurses use to inform their professional development. This can include:
How it works
You will need to submit an application for each activity requiring ACN Endorsement. If your activity consists of multiple units, and you intend to submit these units collectively as one application, you must be able to clearly show that each unit is part of the larger activity and students will only receive a completion certificate upon completion of all modules within the activity. If you intend to award certificates and CPD hours at the end of each unit, these will be considered as separate applications.
Activities cannot be endorsed retrospectively. Endorsement is valid for two years from the date of endorsement or when there is significant change to the content of the endorsed CPD activity (more than 10 percent).
A preliminary assessment of the application will be made by ACN administrative staff, if all required information and documentation is available, your application will be forwarded to the assessment team for review against ACN standards. If assessors determine further information is needed prior to being able to determine an outcome this will be communicated to the applicant to allow for submission of additional information.
Please note that whilst every effort is made to notify applicants of the outcome of the endorsement within four to six weeks, availability of assessors may result in delays.
You will be notified by your nominated email address once your activity has received an outcome.
The email will include approval to use the ACN Endorsement logo as well as guidelines around the use of the logo. Please note that ACNs name and logo are copyright protected and it is an offence to use these without permission from ACN.
Endorsement is valid for two years from the date of endorsement or until significant change to the content of the CPD activity. Endorsement for individual events such as conferences is valid only for the duration of the event.
If you have received endorsement towards an ongoing course or activity, you will be required to complete an annual evaluation report to ensure ongoing delivery of accredited course. Failure to complete the evaluation report will result in cancellation of course accreditation.
Ready to apply for ACN Course Endorsement?
Download the application form or contact our team for guidance.
Search ACN Endorsed Courses
All ACN Endorsed Courses can be identified in the below look up tool OR view the full list here.
Please note, ACN does not administer or deliver endorsed courses, if you wish to make an inquiry regarding the course please contact the relevant provider. If you suspect a course that is not listed below may be claiming ACN Endorsement please reach out to the ACN Course Endorsement team to report.
Endorsement fees
Assessment and endorsement of a single Course/activity: $750 (including GST)
*The fee is not related to the length of the proposed CPD activity.
*Full payment must accompany your application for endorsement.
Bulk discount
If you intend to apply for ACN Endorsement for more than five courses we may be able to ‘bundle’ to reduced prices. Please contact ACN Endorsement team to discuss potential reduced cost for multiple applications.
Frequently asked questions
Australian College of Nursing (ACN) Endorsement is a quality assurance process in which professional development activities or courses are assessed and endorsed against a set of quality criteria developed in line with professional nursing and education requirements.
Displaying the ACN logo on your endorsed CPD activity, promotional material and certificates clearly indicates that you are a quality provider of education and training. Nurses attending an ACN endorsed CPD activity have confidence that the CPD activity has met high standards consistent with the CPD requirements set by ACN.
Endorsement may be for a single CPD activity such as a workshop, conference, seminar, short course, DVD or online learning package. CPD activities that cannot be assessed for endorsement include CPD activities that are marketing a product or a brand. The CPD activity should be nurse focused and beneficial to nurses.
ACN Endorsement is valid for two years, or until a significant change is required and more than 10% of the content is changed. ACN Endorsement of conferences is only valid for the duration of the conference. You will need to submit a new application for endorsement of your conference each year.
We aim to have your application reviewed and finalised within four to six weeks, if all the required documentation is in order at application. Please keep in mind that during busy periods, this may take a little longer. ACN does require all your supporting documentation before your application can be reviewed. If your application is missing any of the requested supporting documentation, this will delay the submission to ACN nurse educators and therefore the turnaround time.
No, unfortunately we cannot provide endorsement of a CPD activity in retrospect. A student must have both commenced and completed their study within the endorsed period to be eligible for ACN endorsed CPD hours.
You will need to submit an application for each CPD activity requiring ACN Endorsement. If your CPD activity consists of multiple units, and you intend to submit these units collectively under one application, you must be able to clearly show that each unit is part of the larger CPD activity and students will only receive a certificate upon completion of all modules within the CPD activity. If certificates and CPD hours are awarded at the end of each unit, you will need to submit separate applications.
Terms and conditions
- Endorsement by ACN is only valid if the information provided is correct and complies with the Copyright Act 1968 and relevant legislation.
- Endorsement becomes invalid if the content or organisational aspect of the course change by 10 percent or more, or failure to comply with any ongoing requests for information. Re-submission is then required.
- Organisations may not advertise that the CPD activity is endorsed, or use the ACN logo without the express permission of ACN.
- Endorsement expires after two years from the date of endorsement unless otherwise renewed.
- ACN reserves the right to refuse any course endorsement application at its discretion. Applications may be refused endorsement if they; do not meet ACN Endorsement standards, provide insufficient evidence, or are otherwise in breach of ACN advertising policy.
Get in touch
For general information please contact:
ACN Course Endorsement team
t: 1800 061 660
e: endorsement@acn.edu.au
