ANZ CrMS Discovery Project to Advance Tertiary Harmonisation Across Australia and New Zealand
Higher Ed Services (HES) is pleased to announce that the Discovery phase of the ANZ Credit Management Initiative to deliver a tertiary education sector-wide Credit Management System (CrMS) is well underway.
CrMS Discovery is a cross-border, cross-sector, initiative to define the planning, design, technical, and implementation requirements for a sector-wide Credit Management System (CrMS). Led by Higher Ed Services (HES), under the auspices of the My eQuals collaborative ethos, and supported by KnowMeQ and MortarCAPS Higher Learning Data Standard, the project is intended to support universities, TAFEs, private providers, learners, and the broader education and training sector across Australia and New Zealand. The Discovery is supported by a broad cross-section of the tertiary education sector, with 16 universities and two TAFEs from Australia and New Zealand actively contributing to the work.
The CrMS is designed to establish the foundation for modern digital infrastructure that will improve credit recognition, credit transfer, and credit for prior learning across institutions and jurisdictions. Through Discovery, HES, KnowMeQ, MortarCAPS, and participating institutions will identify the sector requirements, governance considerations, technical architecture, learner pathways, and institutional workflows needed to support a future CrMS platform development phase. At its core, the CrMS represents a novel and globally innovative approach to learner mobility. By improving how prior learning, formal study, professional experience, military training, and workplace skills are recognized, the platform is positioned to support more flexible education pathways for learners at every stage of life, including mid-career shifters, working adults, and students moving between institutions, sectors, programs, and jurisdictions.
This work aligns with the Australian Universities Accord and the push for tertiary harmonisation by removing barriers to participation and facilitating omni-directional learner mobility. The Discovery phase will define the practical requirements for a future CrMS platform, including institutional workflows, learner-facing experiences, technical integration needs, data considerations, governance models, and implementation options. The outcomes of the Discovery phase will provide HES, sector partners, and participating institutions with a clear foundation for future platform development, funding decisions, and sector implementation planning.
For universities and TAFEs, the future CrMS platform is expected to support more efficient credit assessment processes, reduce administrative burden, improve consistency in decision-making, and help institutions respond to growing learner expectations for flexible, transparent, and portable recognition of learning. For learners, the long-term vision is to make it easier to understand how prior study, work experience, military service, and professional learning may contribute to new credentials and career pathways.
CrMS Discovery reflects a shared commitment to building practical, trusted, and future-ready infrastructure for learner mobility, building on the collaborative ethos that is My eQuals. While full funding for the larger CrMS build has not yet been secured, the Discovery phase will establish the evidence base, technical direction, governance considerations, and implementation roadmap required to advance the initiative with confidence.
Contact Information: Anthony Manahan Director Student Mobility & My eQuals anzcmi-crms@hes.edu.au
