Editors WA 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.

IPEd also supports biennial national conferences for editors. Conferences have already been held in Brisbane, Melbourne and Hobart, and the next will be in Adelaide in October 2009.

IPEd’s current major initiative is the first Australian accreditation exam, which was held on Saturday 18 October 2008 (for details, go to www.iped-editors.org). 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:

• 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).

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. Editors WA is represented on IPEd’s Council and the Accreditation Board.

As CASE, IPEd has 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.

For further information about IPEd, accreditation and national conferences, go to www.iped-editors.org.