The Society is a member of the Institute of Professional Editors Limited (IPEd). IPEd exists to advance the profession of editing, by planning and implementing national initiatives — in particular, an accreditation scheme and promotion and communication campaigns — and other activities to support Australian societies of editors and their members, and editors in general.
Accreditation examination
One of IPEd’s major initiatives was the first Australian accreditation exam, held in 2008. The accreditation scheme, the result of years of work by Australian societies of editors, aims to provide a means by which editors can demonstrate their professional competence. The exam represents the first stage of a proposed two-level accreditation scheme consisting of:
- Accreditation, achieved by passing an editing exam, which will earn successful editors the right to use the postnominals ‘AE’ (Accredited Editor)
- Advanced Accreditation (not yet available), for editors who have gained accreditation, achieved by submitting a portfolio of work to the Accreditation Board for assessment. Successful editors will use the postnominals ‘AAE’ (Advanced Accredited Editor).
See the guidelines for instructions on how to cite these postnomials.
Distinguished editors (DE)
Societies of editors nominated distinguished editors to act as examiners for the 2008 and 2009 accreditation exams. Those nominated had to be career editors who were:
- endorsed by their societies
- unanimously approved by their society’s committee
- accomplished and respected by their peers
- ethical
- active supporters of editing standards.
Several very experienced editors declined the role. The 26 editors who accepted the nomination formed the Assessors Forum (2008–09) and were entrusted with the role of accreditation assessment in the first two years of the program. Because they are ineligible to apply for accreditation, members of this group were granted the honorary rank of distinguished editor, or DE. See the list of distinguished editors here. See the Accreditation Board report on the 2011 exam. Check the IPEd website for details of the next accreditation examination to be scheduled.
IPEd is the successor to the Council of Australian Societies of Editors (CASE) and was registered as an Australian Public Company on 22 January 2008. The Society of Editors (WA) Inc. is represented on IPEd’s Council and the Accreditation Board. As CASE, IPEd published two policies representing the interests of the editing profession:
- Australian Standards for Editing Practice (2001), which sets out the skills and knowledge expected of editors working in Australia. Download a PDF here.
- ‘National Policy on Editing Theses’, developed in collaboration with the Deans and Directors of Graduate Studies (Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee). Download a PDF here.
Future of the accreditation exam
Council and the Accreditation Board are very keen to hear the views of societies about the future of the accreditation exam, because running it has a high cost. Thus, the support of the societies that provide IPEd with its base funding is critical to future decisions about the accreditation system. A discussion paper on the future of the accreditation exam, has been prepared by the IPEd Council and the Accreditation Board (AB) for discussion by societies. Please read the discussion paper and complete the survey so that IPEd can gather and disseminate the information at the Sydney conference in September 2011. If you have any questions about the paper, please contact one of the writers (rtluke@bigpond.net.au; jajustus@tpg.com.au; pam.peters@mq.edu.au).
IPEd notes
Read the IPEd Notes JanFeb2012.
IPEd national editors conferences
IPEd also supports biennial national conferences for editors. Conferences have already been held in Brisbane, Melbourne, Hobart and Adelaide. Perth will host the 2013 conference at The Esplanade Hotel, Fremantle. As events start getting organised, more details will be posted here.
