Professional Standards Councils Website Professional Standards Councils Logo
Council members engaging in a conversation over coffee

Annual Report 2023-24 snapshot

The Councils’ vision is that professional and occupational associations lead the way in advancing the highest standards of professional services to Australian consumers.

Read more 

Our year in highlights

New guidance on mutual recognition

Responded to association requests for clarification of the operation of schemes across jurisdictions, publishing a Guidance Note on mutual recognition of multi-jurisdiction professional standards schemes.

Group shot of Councils members around a conference table as part of a Linkage Project industry event hosted by the Councils in June 2024. Councils’ Chair John Vines OAM is speaking. People also appear on a screen at the front of the table, who have joined the meeting remotely.

Australian Research Councils Linkage Project contribution

Facilitated two industry events to raise awareness of the Linkage Project: Constructing Building Integrity: Raising Standards through Professionalism. Developed research outputs to help improve standards in the building and construction sector.

Positive stakeholder feedback

The Councils’ Net Promoter Score for 2023–24 was 40. Scores above 20 are considered to be favourable.

Councils’ Chair John Vines OAM and Authority Communication and Engagement Officer Catherine McCullough at the 2024 ARA Awards

Recognised in the Australasian Reporting Awards

The Councils’ combined 2022-23 Annual Report received a Bronze Award in the General Reporting category and was a finalist in the Online Reporting category.

Photograph from the October 2023 Professional Standards Forum. It shows people in a room at several tables looking at a screen.

Professional Standards Forum

Held a forum in October 2023 that allowed over 30 delegates from across the national system to hear from experts and peer associations on the topic of ‘Managing compliance – tips, tools and techniques’.

New association annual reporting format on risk management strategies

Successfully transitioned to the Annual Professional Standards Report Template and Guidance as the new reporting format, streamlining the annual reporting requirements.

Councils’ Strategy 2025 initiatives

Initiatives

  • The Councils’ commissioned Taylor Fry consulting actuaries to provide an update to their report on The benefits of professional standards schemes (2022). The supplementary report provides more detailed comparisons to industry benchmarks, with analyses indicating:
    1. schemes can have a positive impact on premium affordability
    2. claims experience is in line with or better than the wider market
    3. associations benefit from having affiliated insurers, with further positive impacts on premium affordability and claims experience.
  • Approved the scope for a three-year project on the accessibility and features of regulated association consumer complaints systems.
  • Approved a project of further research on the benefits of schemes, with a focus on improving professional standards and developing regulatory capacity.
  • Engaged with government officials, standards setters, parliamentary inquiries and regulators on areas of common regulatory interest.
Icon of three people

Indicators

  • 97,853 scheme participants,
    a 2.8% increase on last year
  • 8 stakeholder engagements,
    improving the visibility of schemes and consumer benefits

What’s next

  • Publication of supplementary report to The benefits of professional standards schemes (2022).
  • Engagement with the insurance industry to encourage and assist the recognition of schemes in the pricing of risk.
  • Engagement with associations to participate in work with a research partner to develop case studies on improvements achieved in professional standards and regulatory capacity over the life of a scheme.

Read more 

Read more in the Councils’ 2023-24 Annual Report

Cover of Professional Standards Councils' 2023/24 Annual Report