Ross Gittins has a reputation for helping readers make sense of complex economic issues.
The group will be formally welcomed at an induction ceremony in Adelaide on Thursday.
Gittins said it was an"amazing honour"to become a fellow of the academy.
The only other journalists to become fellows are political commentator Michelle Grattan and columnist Paul Kelly.
Gittins,who has been theHerald's economics editor since 1978,is one of Australia's most influential public commentators.
He has a reputation for helping readers make sense of complex economic issues and,for decades,his columns,published in both theHerald andThe Age,have been essential reading for economics students.
Gittins has previously been awarded honorary doctorates from Macquarie University (2011) and the University of Sydney (2012). He has also been appointed a member of the Order of Australia (AM).
Gittins has written more than half a dozen books includingGittinomics,The Happy EconomistandGittins:A Life Among Budgets,Bulldust and Bastardry.