Recognition at ACS and beyond
Your Path to Certification, Professional Standards, and Career Growth
In a fast-moving tech landscape, recognition isn’t about collecting badges for its own sake. It’s how you prove your capability, signal your professionalism, and translate years of hard work into trust with employers, clients and peers. This article explains what “recognition” means at ACS, why it matters, what sets us apart, how post-nominals work, and, most importantly, what you can do today to get recognised.
What recognition looks like at ACS
Professional certification (CP & CT).
ACS offers two technology-agnostic professional certifications - Certified Professional (CP) and Certified Technologist (CT) that independently assess your knowledge, practice and professionalism against international and Australian standards (including SFIA). Certification sits above vendor certs and qualifications as an overarching signal of competence, ethics and commitment to ongoing professional development.
Specialisms
You can also pursue ACS specialisms (e.g., Cybersecurity or Safety-Critical Systems) to evidence depth in high-demand domains under the same rigorous assessment approach.
Membership grades & professional standing.
ACS recognition also includes progression through membership grades - Associate, Member, Senior Member, Fellow - which reflect your contribution and seniority in the profession.
Post-nominals (letters after your name).
Certified members earn the right to use post-nominals that combine your grade and certification status, for example, MACS CT, MACS CP, MACS Snr CP (for Senior Members) and FACS CP (for Fellows). These signal to the market that your capability has been independently verified and maintained.
You may be eligible for MACS Uplift right now - apply today.
Micro-credentials & digital badges.
Beyond formal certification, ACS microCredentials let you validate specific competencies with digital badges you can showcase to employers. We also provide SFIA Digital Badges through our workforce development team.
Professional recognition by the government (Professional Standards Scheme).
What truly sets ACS apart (more below) is that CP members are covered by the Professional Standards Scheme (PSS) - a legal instrument recognised by government that elevates tech to the same professional footing as fields like engineering and law.
Why recognition matters
Credibility and trust. Certification provides external validation of your skills and practice, not just a course completion. Employers and clients understand what the CP/CT standards mean.
Market signal and career mobility. ACS surveys consistently show CPs earn more than those with vendor certifications alone, because certification evidences breadth, ethics and ongoing development.
Professional identity. The combination of membership grade, post-nominals and where applicable, PSS participation places you in a recognised professional community with defined standards, CPD and accountability.
What sets ACS apart: the Professional Standards Scheme
The ACS Professional Standards Scheme (PSS) confers government recognition and legal benefits for eligible Certified Professional members who comply with scheme requirements. The current scheme runs from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2029, operating across all Australian states and territories under NSW legislation.
What the PSS does for you and your clients
Government recognition & capped civil liability. If a civil claim is successfully brought against a participating CP for professional services, liability is capped at $2 million per claim (subject to the scheme’s terms), supporting insurability and consumer confidence.
Standards uplift. ACS is obliged to monitor, enforce and continually improve professional standards for participating CPs—through CPD, audits, ethics, complaints and discipline systems, and insurance requirements.
Who participates?
Participation is mandatory for CPs unless you obtain an exemption (e.g., you don’t provide external professional services, are purely academic, or reside overseas). CT members are not eligible to participate in the PSS.
What your post-nominals mean (and why they matter)
Post-nominals are concise, widely understood signals of both your membership grade and your certification status:
MACS CT - Member of ACS, Certified Technologist
MACS CP - Member of ACS, Certified Professional
MACS Snr CP - Senior Member of ACS, Certified Professional
FACS CP - Fellow of ACS, Certified Professional
Using them demonstrates that your skills and practice have been independently assessed and are maintained through ethics and CPD obligations.
As an extra recognition of international professional standing, CPs may also use the post-nominal “IP3P” through ACS’s accreditation under the International Professional Practice Partnership.
Check out our Hall of Fame with ACS's honorary life members and fellows.
What you can do today to get recognised
1) Choose your pathway (CT or CP).
CT is ideal if you’re earlier in your career or consolidating industry experience.
CP is for established professionals providing or leading professional services.
Both are technology-neutral and assessed to recognised standards. \
2) Apply in five straightforward steps.
Head to the ACS Certification portal and:
Start the online application
Upload your CV
Upload qualifications (certificates & transcripts)
Enter industry experience with evidence
Provide two referees and submit.
3) Prepare quality supporting evidence.
Strengthen your application with job descriptions, performance reviews, project deliverables, publications, client testimonials, and other proof of outcomes. You may be invited to a short interview to clarify your skills and knowledge.
4) Commit to the professional obligations that maintain your recognition.
CPD: Minimum 30 hours/year for CP; 20 hours/year for CT. Track your learning through MyACS so you’re audit-ready.
Ethics & conduct: Abide by the ACS Code of Professional Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct.
If you’re a CP participating in the PSS: maintain compliant PI insurance, complete your annual PSS declaration, and include the limited liability wording on stationery.
5) Amplify your recognition signals.
Start using your post-nominals in email signatures, CVs and public profiles (e.g., MACS CP).
Add relevant digital badges/micro-credentials to showcase specific competencies.
If you’re a CP, consider where PSS participation strengthens client confidence (especially if you provide external services).
6) Map your skills and plan the next uplift.
Use MySFIA to benchmark current capability and identify gaps aligned to roles and seniority. Then prioritise learning and project experiences that will progress you toward Senior Member or Fellow, or toward a CP specialism.
Final word: recognition that moves with your career
Recognition at ACS is a living system: certification validates your capability now, CPD keeps it current, post-nominals and grades make it visible, and the Professional Standards Scheme makes it matter to employers, to clients, and to the community that relies on safe, ethical technology.
Ready to take the next step? Start your CP or CT application, gather your evidence, and add your post-nominals once you’re certified. Your professionalism deserves to be seen.