Firstly, the regulatory requirements: the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015, Standard 3.3 states

• “The learning resources, such as library collections and services, creative works, notes, laboratory facilities, studio sessions, simulations and software, that are specified or recommended for a course of study, relate directly to the learning outcomes, are up to date and, where supplied as part of a course of study, are accessible when needed by students.”

In its guidelines for meeting this Standard, the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA) looks for resources that are

• “relevant to the expected learning outcomes; appropriate to the level of study; authoritative, and up to date”. They also look for resources that “prevent poor quality resources (e.g. irrelevant, obsolete, non-authoritative or insufficiently rigorous material) being provided or used.”