IPEd standards for editing practice sets out the core standards that professional editors should meet.
IPEd Standards
The IPEd standards for editing practice tells employers what to expect from the editors they hire. It shows new editors the range of skills and knowledge they should aspire to. It helps IPEd, educational institutions and other training providers to devise material, seminars and courses on editing. And it is the foundation for IPEd’s accreditation scheme.
The Standards does not attempt to capture the full array of knowledge, skills, best practice, sequential tasks and responsibilities required by all editors on all projects in all settings. However, professional editors should meet certain core standards.
The term “standard” is used here to mean “anything taken by general consent as a basis of comparison; an approved model” (Macquarie dictionary). The Standards does not attempt to codify the quality of editors’ work – how well a particular task has been performed. Rather, it aims to set out the knowledge and skills needed for editing practice, those that experienced editors routinely use in their work.
The third edition of IPEd standards for editing practice was published in 2024.
Download the Standards
You can download the third edition of the Standards now.
It is available in 3 digital formats and 2 print formats so you can choose the format that best suits your needs.
The 3 digital formats, all of which are accessible for readers with print disability, are:
- PDF. This is a tagged PDF optimised for accessibility and for reading on-screen in your web browser, a standard PDF reader (e.g. Adobe Acrobat or Preview) or other specialist screen-reading software. It is a fixed layout but some viewing or reading customisation is possible depending on your software.
IPEd standards for editing practice 3rd edition SCREEN.pdf [709KB]
- EPUB. This is a reflowable ebook (EPUB3) for a dedicated EPUB reader such as iBooks, Kindle or Kobo. You can customise some settings (e.g. font choice and size, text alignment and hyphenation) depending on your EPUB reader.
IPEd standards for editing practice 3rd edition.epub [410KB]
- Microsoft Word. This is a standard Word document optimised for accessibility and for reading on-screen. It is fully customisable.
IPEd standards for editing practice 3rd edition.docx [147KB]
The 2 print formats are both non-editable PDF files that are optimised for printing and reading on paper. You can choose between a single-page or 2-page layout as follows:
- Print, single-page layout. This is a standard print-quality PDF. Page size is A5 and there are 64 pages. The text font size is 11 pt. We recommend you print on A4 paper in 1 of 2 ways: (a) print at 100% scale (i.e. A5) so you have plenty of margin space for making notes; or (b) scale up to fit the page (i.e. A4) for a large-print format.
IPEd standards for editing practice 3rd edition PRINT 1p.pdf [1MB]
- Print, two-page layout. This is also a standard print-quality PDF, with text font size of 11 pt. Page size is A5 but the layout has been set in a 2-page format so there are 32 pages. We recommend you print on A4 paper scaled to fit the page.
IPEd standards for editing practice 3rd edition PRINT 2pp.pdf [1MB]
Te Tiriti o Waitangi | Treaty of Waitangi statement
Te Tiriti o Waitangi, signed in 1840, was an agreement between the British Crown and iwi and hapū Māori – Māori tribes and subtribes. Today, te Tiriti is widely accepted as a constitutional document that establishes and guides the relationship between the Crown in Aotearoa New Zealand (embodied by the government) and Māori.
In a contemporary context, te Tiriti o Waitangi also provides a strategic framework for the way in which organisations engage with Māori and consider related issues. Some of the principles and approaches that emerge out of te Tiriti are:
- Tino rangatiratanga: The guarantee of tino rangatiratanga, which provides for Māori mana motuhake – Māori self-determination.
- Equity: The principle of equity, which requires us to commit to achieving equitable outcomes for Māori.
- Active protection: The principle of active protection, which requires us to actively protect and support the development of Māori language, culture and identity.
- Options: The principle of options, to support the development of Māori modes and practices.
- Partnership: The principle of partnership, which requires us to work in partnership with Māori as we develop our approaches and services.
IPEd is committed to integrating te Tiriti across our organisation:
- as an employer
- with our members
- in our work.
Editors need to consider the implications of te Tiriti and te ao Māori – the Māori worldview – in all aspects of our editing practice. On Māori-specific projects, we need to partner with Māori and support Māori leadership throughout the project. Whenever appropriate, we need to:
- incorporate mātauranga Māori – Māori knowledge – into our editing
- seek Māori expertise and advice
- ensure the correct use and form of te reo Māori – the Māori language – including the spelling of place names.
First Nations commitment
For more than 65,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have cared for Country across the Australian continent, maintaining rich and diverse cultures, customs and languages, with deep connections to land and sea. However, treaties do not yet exist with all state, territory or federal government jurisdictions.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart, released in 2017, makes a case for truth-telling and agreement-making between governments and First Nations. It speaks of makarrata, “the coming together after a struggle”, to bring self-determination and justice for First Nations people.
This principle needs to guide our work as editors whenever a project does or should involve First Nations people, content, languages or perspectives. In particular, we need to:
- recognise the diversity of First Nations communities and knowledge systems
- call on authors and publishers to meaningfully engage with appropriate people and organisations, and contribute to that process if required
- support the inclusion of First Nations voices, collaboration and leadership
- prevent the misuse or appropriation of First Nations cultures, languages and knowledges
- build our cultural competence if it is lacking, so we can better anticipate the impact of the words we use and edit
- develop skills in working with traumatic material, especially if we are called on to help people share their personal stories, to ensure our actions are culturally sensitive and safe.
IPEd commits to:
- supporting First Nations editors to join and continue in the profession
- encouraging and helping non-Indigenous editors to become more culturally competent
- challenging policies, processes and ways of thinking that are exclusionary or harmful.
History of the Standards
The first edition of the Standards, then known as Australian standards for editing practice, was devised by the Standards Working Group of the Council of Australian Societies of Editors (CASE). It was approved by the members of all Australian societies of editors and ratified by CASE in 2001.
CASE was an informal national body succeeded by the Institute of Professional Editors Limited (IPEd), a not-for-profit company, in 2008. With the 7 societies of editors as its members, it was then the peak body for Australian editors. In 2016, the societies voted for IPEd to become a national direct-membership organisation with branches in each state, expanding to include the Aotearoa New Zealand branch in 2019.
Two working groups began work to update the Standards for a second edition. The first group was in 2005–06 and the second in 2010–11.
In late 2011, IPEd appointed a facilitator to consult with all Australian societies, through their committees and a series of workshops, similar to the process used for the first edition. Society-appointed coordinators worked with the facilitator to finalise the revision through national teleconferences and consultation with their workshop participants and society members. The resulting document was approved by members in 2012 and published in 2013.
For the third edition, IPEd sought submissions from members on changes to the Standards. It convened a new working party with representatives from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand to review these submissions, meeting regularly throughout 2021 and 2022. During 2023, the draft third edition was reviewed by First Nations, Māori, accessibility, and diversity, equity and inclusion experts. It was then sent for final review by IPEd’s Board and committees before feedback from IPEd members and ratification by the IPEd Board.
