Accreditation Council


The Accreditation Council (AC) is a council of Exercise & Sports Science Australia, and provides leadership, governance and oversight for the accreditation and regulation of exercise and sports science professions and professionals. It will also provide strategic advice to the Board on issues pertaining to the accreditation and regulation of exercise and sports science professions and professionals.

AC Members   

  • Chair – Vincent Kelly
  • Members – Jacqueline Raymond, Vanessa Rice & Christopher Hicks  

Associate Professor Vincent Kelly (Chair)

Associate Professor Vince Kelly works at the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Queensland University of Technology. His areas of research interest include mental fatigue and recovery in athletes, strength and conditioning in high performance sport and ergogenic aids and sport nutrition supplementation. Vince has previously been co-chair of ESSA’s Qld State Chapter and a member of ESSA’s Sport Science Advisory Group.  He has over 25 years’ industry experience in elite sport working in high performance, sport science and strength and conditioning roles with professional football teams, the Queensland Academy of Sport, and individual athletes.

Associate Professor Jacqueline Raymond

Associate Professor Jacqueline (Jacqui) Raymond is currently Program Director for the undergraduate exercise physiology course at The University of Sydney following a period in Work Integrated Learning overseeing the exercise science and exercise physiology placement program.  Jacqui has previously been a course accreditation reviewer and a member of the Accreditation Council since October 2019. Jacqui’s teaching and research expertise is in learning and assessment of student performance on placement.

Dr Vanessa Rice

Dr Vanessa Rice has been a Senior Lecturer at the Australian Catholic University, School of Exercise Science. She was the national course coordinator for the Masters of Clinical Exercise Physiology for over 20 years. Vanessa served on the VIC Chapter of ESSA for over 13 years serving in various committee roles.

Mr Christopher Hicks

Chris has over 25 years as a health practitioner in acute hospital settings and was a member of the inaugural Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia for 9 years, chairing the Board’s policy committee.  He has led Allied Health, Surgical and Medical Hospital Divisions in Queensland and the ACT, and keenly supports multi-disciplinary approaches to the delivery of health care.  He has an interest in regulation in health care, Allied Health governance and professional standards.  Chris is currently appointed as the Director of Research and Innovation at West Moreton Health and identifies partnerships between universities, health services and professions as key to sustaining and improving the delivery of health care across the private and public sectors. 

For more information about the Accreditation Council, please contact the ESSA Regulations Manager, Carly Ryan via [email protected]