Australian College of Theology

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

 * New South Wales


 * Chinese Theological College Australia (Independent)
 * Christ College (Presbyterian)
 * Mary Andrews College (Anglican)
 * Morling College (Baptist)
 * Sydney Missionary and Bible College (Independent)
 * Youthworks College (Anglican)


 * New Zealand
 * Laidlaw College, Auckland (Independent)


 * Queensland
 * Brisbane School of Theology (Independent)
 * Malyon College (Baptist)
 * Queensland Theological College (Presbyterian)
 * Trinity College Queensland (Uniting)


 * South Australia
 * Bible College of South Australia (Independent)


 * Victoria
 * Melbourne School of Theology (Independent)
 * Presbyterian Theological College (Presbyterian)
 * Reformed Theological College (Reformed)
 * Ridley College (Anglican)


 * Western Australia
 * Trinity Theological College (Independent)
 * the Perth campus of Morling College

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


 * Undergraduate Certificate of Theology
 * Undergraduate Certificate of Ministry
 * Diploma of Theology
 * Diploma of Ministry
 * Diploma of Theology / Diploma of Ministry
 * Advanced Diploma of Theology
 * Advanced Diploma of Ministry
 * Associate Degree of Ministry
 * Associate Degree of Theology
 * Bachelor of Christian Studies
 * Bachelor of Theology
 * Bachelor of Ministry
 * Bachelor of Theology / Bachelor of Ministry
 * Bachelor of Theology (Honours)
 * Bachelor of Ministry (Honours)
 * Graduate Certificate of Divinity
 * Graduate Diploma of Divinity
 * Master of Ministry
 * Master of Divinity
 * Master of Divinity / Graduate Diploma of Divinity
 * Graduate Certificate of Christian Studies
 * Graduate Certificate of Pastoral Care for Mental Health
 * Graduate Certificate of Christian Mentoring
 * Graduate Certificate of Christian Leadership
 * Graduate Certificate of Leadership
 * Master of Christian Leadership
 * Master of Arts (Christian Studies)
 * Master of Missional Leadership
 * Master of Arts (Theology)
 * Master of Arts (Ministry)
 * Master of Theology
 * Doctor of Ministry
 * Doctor of Philosophy
 * Doctor of Theology

List of Registrars & Deans
There have been nine heads of the ACT, who were firstly known as Registrar and now known as Dean.


 * Rev Canon William Hey Sharp, Registrar, 1896-1927
 * Ven Dr Archdeacon John Forster, Registrar, 1928-1945
 * Rev Dr Canon Frank Cash, Registrar, 1946-1960
 * Rev Canon Colin H. Duncan, Registrar, 1961-1973
 * Rev Dr Canon Stuart Babbage (Stuart Barton Babbage), Registrar, 1973-1991
 * Rev Dr John Pryor, Dean, 1991-1995
 * Rev Dr Mark Harding, Dean, 1996-2016
 * Rev Dr Martin Sutherland, Dean, 2016-2020
 * Professor James Dalziel, Dean, 2020-current

Notable alumni

 * Peter Adam, former principal of Ridley College (Melbourne)
 * John Armstrong, Anglican bishop
 * Robert J. Banks, biblical scholar and practical theologian
 * Paul Barker, bishop in the Anglican Church of Australia
 * Paul Barnett, Anglican bishop, ancient historian and New Testament scholar
 * Geoffrey Bingham, former principal of the Bible College of South Australia
 * Brad Billings, Anglican bishop
 * Peter Carnley, former Anglican Primate of Australia
 * Ross Clifford, Baptist theologian, political commentator, radio personality and author
 * Gordon Cheng, author
 * Richard Condie, the Anglican Bishop of Tasmania
 * Mark Durie, scholar in linguistics and theology
 * John Dickson, apologist, historian and founder of the Centre for Public Christianity
 * John Fleming, priest and bioethicist
 * Michael Frost, Baptist missiologist
 * Kevin Giles, author and Anglican priest
 * Graeme Goldsworthy, evangelical Anglican theologian
 * Harry Goodhew, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney from 1993 to 2001
 * John Harrower, eleventh Anglican Bishop of Tasmania
 * Alan Hirsch, missional thinker and author
 * Philip Edgecumbe Hughes, New Testament scholar, professor at Westminster Theological Seminary
 * Grenville Kent, academic, film producer, author and Christian communicator
 * Norman Lacy, politician and Victorian Government minister 1979 to 1982
 * Peter Jensen, retired Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, theologian and academic
 * Phillip Jensen, former dean of St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney
 * Marcus Loane, former Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, and former Anglican Primate of Australia
 * Leon Morris, New Testament scholar
 * Dianne "Di" Nicolios, Anglican archdeacon
 * Michael Raiter, former principal of the Melbourne School of Theology
 * Keith Rayner, former Anglican Primate of Australia
 * Charles Sherlock, theologian
 * Geoffrey Smith, current Anglican Primate of Australia
 * Ray Smith, Anglican bishop
 * Dominic Steele, Anglican priest and podcaster
 * Daniel Willis, former CEO of the Bible Society in New South Wales
 * Bruce W. Winter, New Testament scholar

Notable faculty and staff

 * Peter Adam, former principal of Ridley College
 * Michael Bird, academic dean at Ridley College
 * Ross Clifford, principal of Morling College
 * Mark Durie, lecturer at Melbourne School of Theology
 * John Dickson, fellow and lecturer at Ridley College
 * Michael Frost, lecturer at Morling College
 * Peter Jensen, retired Australian Anglican bishop, theologian and academic, Moore College (when part of the ACT)
 * Leon Morris, former principal of Ridley College