How to become a Chartered Accountant or CPA in Australia.

Published 29 September 2026 · North Sydney · Prime People · Requirements checked against CA ANZ and CPA Australia on 29 September 2026

This guide assumes you have picked a body, or nearly. If you have not, start with CA vs CPA, which compares the two properly, or CA vs CPA vs IPA if the third body is in the mix. What follows is the next question: what you actually have to do to get the letters.

Every requirement below was checked on the official CA ANZ and CPA Australia websites on 29 September 2026, and each section names the page it came from. Both bodies change details often. CA ANZ renamed two core subjects this year, for example. Check the linked page before you enrol.

Step 1: a degree that meets the standard

Neither body insists on an accounting degree, which surprises people. Both insist on a degree at bachelor level or above, and both want certain accounting knowledge covered before you start. If your degree does not cover it, you fill the gaps with foundation subjects rather than starting again.

For the CA

CA ANZ's entry requirements ask for one of two things: a CA ANZ accredited degree with passes in all the required subjects, or a degree assessed as equivalent to at least an Australian or New Zealand bachelor's degree (AQF level 7 or higher) that meets the required competencies. The nine competence areas are accounting fundamentals, audit and assurance, business law, economics, financial accounting and reporting, finance, information and communication technology, management accounting, and taxation.

Missing some of them does not rule you out. You can still be admitted, then complete the gaps through the CA Foundations Program or an accredited provider. Foundations is also the route CA ANZ names for people with non-accredited degrees, TAFE study or significant work experience, and you can enter it in the final year of a non-accredited degree.

For the CPA

CPA Australia wants a degree assessed as comparable to an Australian bachelor's degree, or at least eight standard units (one year full-time) of an Australian postgraduate degree. Its FAQs say plainly that a relevant degree in a field such as accounting is not a prerequisite to begin. Gaps are filled with Foundation exams in four areas: Foundations of Accounting, Business Finance, Financial Accounting and Reporting, and Management Accounting. Each is a closed-book, multiple choice exam of three hours and fifteen minutes, sat within twelve months of enrolling in it.

One real difference from the CA: CPA Australia lets you start the CPA Program before you finish your degree. The degree must be complete before you can advance to CPA status.

A non-accredited or overseas degree is assessed by both bodies for exemptions and gaps as part of your application. Some overseas degrees carry a bachelor's or master's title without meeting the standard, which CPA Australia calls out directly. Get the assessment done before you plan a timeline around it.

Step 2: join as a candidate

You study as a member-in-training of the body. For the CA that is provisional membership, which everyone eligible for the CA Program can hold. For the CPA it is Associate membership, and you must be an Associate to enrol in a CPA Program subject.

Two CA ANZ details trip people up. It cannot register candidates studying on an Australian student visa, and Australian residents need a Unique Student Identifier (USI) to enrol.

The CA Program, subject by subject

The CA Program is a TEQSA-accredited Graduate Diploma of Chartered Accounting (AQF level 8): nine subjects, seven core and two electives, 120 credit points in all, delivered fully online across four terms a year. CA ANZ describes the study load as typically one year full-time, or two or more years part-time. Most people in a full-time accounting job take the part-time route. Source: CA ANZ, CA Program.

CA ANZ, CA Program page and Term 3 to Term 4 2026 fee schedule, accessed 29 September 2026. Ethics and Sustainability replaced Ethics and Business from Term 3 2026, and Audit and Analytics is the new name for the audit core subject from Term 4 2026, so older guides and some CA ANZ pages still use the previous names.

If you leave part way, 60 or more credit points earns a Graduate Certificate in Accounting, so completed subjects are not wasted.

The CPA Program, subject by subject

The CPA Program is four compulsory subjects, two electives and an experience component. Each subject runs for one semester and ends in an exam, and there are two semesters a year. You can take up to three subjects in a semester, and CPA Australia suggests planning for 10 to 15 hours of study a week per subject.

CPA Australia, CPA Program and CPA Program FAQs, accessed 29 September 2026.

Your electives are not entirely free. If your degree did not include recognised taxation study, Australia Taxation becomes one of your two. The same applies to audit: without recognised audit study you must take Advanced Audit and Assurance. Someone with a non-accounting degree can find both elective places spoken for.

Exams run for three hours and fifteen minutes, at a test centre or online with a remote supervisor. For reference, the Semester 2 2026 exam period is 5 to 20 October 2026 (important dates).

Step 3: three years of practical experience

This is the part that sets your real timeline, because it cannot be compressed by studying harder. Both bodies let you gain it before, during or after the study.

CA ANZ, Mentored Practical Experience; CPA Australia, Your Experience. Accessed 29 September 2026.

The approved-employer rule is the one that catches people. If you plan to do the CA and you are weighing a job in a company rather than a firm, ask whether the employer is approved before you accept. Moving mid-program to an employer that is not approved leaves a hole in your experience. We cover how that plays out in public practice vs commerce.

How long it takes

The official limits are generous. CA ANZ gives you a maximum of eight years of provisional membership to finish both the study and the experience. CPA Australia gives six years from the date you become an Associate member to complete the program.

In practice the three years of experience set the pace. CPA Australia says enrolling early opens the possibility of reaching the designation in three years, and CA ANZ's part-time study load of two or more years fits inside its three-year experience requirement. Our read, from the candidates we place: a graduate in a supportive full-time role who starts studying in their first year and does not stall should expect about three years. The people who take five or six usually paused the study for a year somewhere, not because the exams were impossible.

If you are thinking about what comes after the letters, the accountant career path guide shows where qualifying sits on the ladder from graduate to partner or CFO.

What it costs

These are the fees each body publishes today. Both review them regularly, and neither includes the cost of your time.

CA figures: Australian domestic candidates, GST exempt, from CA ANZ's CA Program overview (Term 3 2026 to Term 2 2027) and its Term 3 to Term 4 2026 fee schedule. CPA figures: CPA Australia, member service fees, Australia, including GST. Both accessed 29 September 2026.

On those numbers, six CPA subjects come to $8,496 at the early-bird price or $9,582 at the standard price, before any exemptions. The CA's indicative total is $8,548. The tuition is close enough that it shouldn't decide which body you pick. Both charge an annual membership subscription on top while you study. We have not quoted CA ANZ's subscription for 2026 to 2027, because the schedule we found was still marked for approval. CA tuition can be paid with FEE-HELP if you are eligible, or with an employer token.

Exemptions and overseas qualifications

You can skip subjects you have effectively already passed, within limits.

• CA: under CA ANZ's credit policy, exemptions are possible for up to three core subjects, the ethics subject and both electives. Integrated Chartered Accounting Practice, the final integrating subject, cannot be exempted.
• CPA: up to three CPA Program subjects can be exempted, never Global Strategy and Leadership, and the prior study generally needs to be within the last ten years.

If you are already a member of an overseas accounting body, both have pathways that can replace some or all of the program. CA ANZ lists routes for members of Global Accounting Alliance bodies, ACCA and several others on its overseas members page. CPA Australia lists its membership pathways and arrangements, plus an experience-based pathway for people with at least five years in a relevant role and a recognised qualification.

Migration is a separate process. Both bodies are assessing authorities for skilled migration in accounting occupations, and a migration skills assessment is not the same thing as membership. CPA Australia notes that membership pathway agreements are not recognised for migration assessments. If you are moving to Australia, work out which of the two you need first.

Choosing an employer that will get you there

The employer matters more than the choice of body. You will spend three years gaining experience with them, and they decide how much of your study they fund and how much time you get before exams. CPA Australia notes that employers often contribute to fees or offer study leave, and its Recognised Employer Program marks employers who commit to support such as subsidised course fees, study leave and exam leave. CA ANZ's approved employer status tells you the experience will count, but not what the employer pays for.

So ask, and ask before you sign rather than after. The questions we'd want answered:

• Will you pay my program fees, all of them or some, and is there a clawback if I leave?
• How much study and exam leave do I get?
• For the CA: are you an approved employer, and who will be my mentor? For the CPA: who can sign off my experience?
• Will this role give me the technical experience the body requires, or is it mostly processing?
• How many of your people finished the program in the last few years, and how long did they take?

A firm that answers the last one quickly and with names usually supports its people well. The live roles above show where an ad asks for CA or CPA or mentions study support. Our graduate salary guide explains why study support can be worth more than the difference between two graduate salaries.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• CA ANZ, Entry requirements: Chartered Accountant (degree, nine competence areas, Foundations, provisional membership, visa and USI).
• CA ANZ, CA Program (nine subjects, GradDipCA, online delivery, study load) and the Term 3 to Term 4 2026 fee schedule (subject renames, fees).
• CA ANZ, Mentored Practical Experience (three years and 500 days, approved employers, mentors, eight-year limit).
• CA ANZ, CA Program overview (fees, FEE-HELP) and CA ANZ credit policy (exemptions).
• CPA Australia, CPA Program and CPA Program FAQs (subjects, study load, six-year limit).
• CPA Australia, Eligibility, Your degree and Foundation exams.
• CPA Australia, Your Experience (36 months, ten skills, sign-off).
• CPA Australia, Member service fees, Australia and Exemptions.
• All accessed 29 September 2026.