BACB Leaving Australia: What Behavior Analysts Need to Know
A complete guide for Australian behavior analysts preparing for the BACB's withdrawal in January 2027. The same BACB rule came to the UK a year earlier. Understand your options and plan your next steps now.
1. What Is Happening with the BACB in Australia?
The BACB stops offering new certifications to Australian residents on 1 January 2027. Those certified before that date may continue to recertify. The same change came to the UK on 1 January 2026: UK residents may no longer apply for any BACB certification, and those certified before then may continue to recertify.
Today the BACB accepts certification applications only from residents of the United States, Canada and, until 1 January 2027, Australia.
If you are already certified, your certification does not end on that date. If you are working toward a BACB credential, as a supervisee building fieldwork hours or a student finishing coursework: to get a BACB credential, Australian residents must submit an approvable application by 1 December 2026 and pass the examination by 31 December 2026; the BACB will continue to allow Australian certificants to recertify.
This is a credentialing change, not a judgment on your competence. Your clinical skills, training and experience are exactly as valuable as they were before.
If a family asks you what this means for their child, here is the same thing in plain language, written for them so you don't have to.
2. Key Dates for Australian Professionals
These are the dates the BACB has set.
UK residents may no longer apply for any BACB certification. Those certified before this date may continue to recertify.
Last day for Australian residents to submit an approvable BACB application.
Last day to pass the BACB examination.
The BACB stops offering new certifications to Australian residents. Those certified before this date may continue to recertify.
If you are a student: Speak with your programme coordinator now about how your coursework and fieldwork fit the 1 January 2027 date.
3. Your Certification Options
Here are the pathways to consider. Check each one against what your employer and funders will accept.
Option A: Keep Your BACB Certification
If you are certified before 1 January 2027, the BACB says you may continue to recertify. Keep your CEUs current and recertify on your usual cycle.
Option B: An Australian Credential
The Association for Behaviour Analysis Australia (ABA Australia; the BACB writes AusABA) has developed a certification system for behaviour analysts, with Certified Behaviour Analyst (CBA) and Certified Behaviour Analyst Undergraduate (CBAU) categories, and self-regulates through the National Alliance of Self Regulating Health Professions (BACB, July 2024). What it requires is for ABA Australia to say.
Option C: IBAO (International Behavior Analysis Organization)
IBAO offers an independent international credential. It is worth comparing if you work in more than one country; ask IBAO what it requires.
Option D: AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency)
AHPRA does not currently register behaviour analysts as a distinct profession. Check AHPRA's list of regulated professions for any change.
Our recommendation: If you are already certified, keep your BACB certification current. If you are working toward a BACB credential, apply by 1 December 2026 and pass the exam by 31 December 2026. Ask your employer and funders what they will accept, and ask ABA Australia what its certification requires.
4. What About Your CEUs?
Your continuing education investment is not wasted. Here is what Australian behavior analysts need to know about CEU recognition during and after the transition.
- Keep a record of every CEU. Whether the Australian body will accept CEUs earned through BACB Authorized Continuing Education providers is for that body to decide, so keep your certificates where you can show them.
- Keep meticulous records. Document every CEU: course name, provider, date completed, number of CEUs, category (general, ethics, supervision), and certificate of completion. During transitions, thorough documentation removes friction from every application.
- Do not pause your professional development. Continuing to earn CEUs keeps your BACB recertification on track and your clinical knowledge current, which is the whole point of continuing education.
BACB CE requirements for BCBAs: 32 CEUs per 2-year certification cycle, including 4 Ethics CEUs, plus 3 Supervision CEUs for those who supervise under the current BACB handbook; the BACB's 2027 requirements raise the supervision figure to 4 (its March 2022 newsletter applied them to BCBAs recertifying on or after January 1, 2027). Keeping these requirements current through the transition keeps your BACB certification in good standing; any new body will set its own requirements.
5. What the BACB Has Said, and What You Can Do Now
Here is what the BACB has said, and what you can do now.
Lesson 1: Act Before the Date
To get a BACB credential, Australian residents must submit an approvable application by 1 December 2026 and pass the examination by 31 December 2026; the BACB will continue to allow Australian certificants to recertify.
Lesson 2: Have Your Records in Hand
Keep your supervision records, fieldwork documentation and CE certificates organized now; recertification already asks for them and any Australian pathway will.
Lesson 3: Ask Your Employer Now
What employers and the Australian regulator will accept is theirs to say; ask yours now and keep your BACB certification current.
Lesson 4: Keep Every CE Certificate
Keep every CE certificate, with its date and provider, in a single folder. When the Australian body sets its requirements, you'll be able to show exactly what you've completed.
Lesson 5: Stay Connected
Follow the BACB Australia updates and the Australian behaviour analysis associations for the arrangements as they are set.
For a detailed look at the UK transition process, including the specific certification options available, read our companion guide: BACB Leaving the UK: What It Means and What to Do Next.
6. How Special Learning Can Help
Special Learning has been supporting behavior analysts and their teams internationally since 2010.
Here is why this matters during the Australian transition:
- Free planning tools. The free CEU Tracker keeps your hours and cycle dates in one place, and the free International Credential Navigator sets out each body's rules for Australia.
- Training for new technicians. Intro to ABA: Level 1 teaches basic ABA methods online and self-paced, from anywhere in Australia: US $199, paid once, with a free 7-day trial of the first 2 sessions and no payment card needed. It is foundational training with a certificate of completion, not a credential or continuing education.
Plan Your CE Strategy for the Transition
Free tools to help you maintain your credentials and prepare for the transition, and paid basic ABA training for new technicians.
Credential Navigator Intro to ABA Level 1 Level 1 Free 7-Day Trial Free CEU Tracker7. NDIS and Funding Considerations
For many Australian behaviour analysts, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is central to their practice. What the NDIS will accept is for the NDIS to say.
What to do now: Ask your NDIS contacts, plan managers and support coordinators now, and keep your BACB certification current. Do not wait until January 2027 to raise it.
8. Free Resources
These free tools and guides are available to help you during the transition.
BACB Leaving the UK Guide
Our UK guide. The same BACB rule came to the UK a year earlier.
Free CEU Tracker
Track your continuing education progress toward your 32-CEU requirement. Essential for transition documentation.
BCBA Career Guide
Comprehensive guide covering requirements, career paths, and professional development for behavior analysts.
International Credential Navigator
Free country-by-country guide to each credentialing body's rules.
Supervisor PDU Compliance
Supervision requirements and PDU tracking guidance for BCBA supervisors.
All Free ABA Guides
Browse our free guides.
Frequently Asked Questions
The BACB stops offering new certifications to Australian residents on 1 January 2027. Those certified before that date may continue to recertify.
Yes. The BACB says those certified before 1 January 2027 may continue to recertify. What changes on that date is that Australian residents can no longer apply for a new BACB certification.
The Association for Behaviour Analysis Australia (ABA Australia; the BACB writes AusABA) has developed a certification system for behaviour analysts, with Certified Behaviour Analyst (CBA) and Certified Behaviour Analyst Undergraduate (CBAU) categories, and self-regulates through the National Alliance of Self Regulating Health Professions (BACB, July 2024). What it requires is for ABA Australia to say.
AHPRA does not currently register behaviour analysts as a distinct profession. Check AHPRA's list of regulated professions for any change.
The UK change began on 1 January 2026: UK residents may no longer apply for any BACB certification, and those certified before then may continue to recertify. The same applies in Australia from 1 January 2027. We hold no data on how UK professionals fared, so we won't offer lessons we can't show.
Keep earning and documenting your CEUs through BACB Authorized Continuing Education (ACE) providers. Whether the new Australian certifying body accepts them is for that body to decide, so keep your certificates where you can show them.
IBAO offers an independent international credential. If you work in more than one country, it is worth comparing; ask IBAO what it requires.
Yes, if you are certified before 1 January 2027: the BACB says those certified before that date may continue to recertify. Keep your CEUs current and recertify on your usual cycle.
What the NDIS will accept is for the NDIS to say. Ask your plan managers and support coordinators now, and keep your BACB certification current.
(1) Keep your BACB certification in good standing. (2) Complete and document your CEUs. (3) Gather your supervision logs, fieldwork records and CE certificates now. (4) If you are working toward a BACB credential, apply by 1 December 2026 and pass the exam by 31 December 2026. (5) Ask your employer and NDIS contacts what they will accept. (6) Ask ABA Australia what its certification requires. (7) Keep earning CEUs through BACB ACE providers.