Public consultation on review of accreditation arrangements – assignment of accreditation functions

17 Apr 2018

National Boards and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) are consulting on future accreditation arrangements from mid-2019, when the current term of assignment of accreditation functions ends.

Public consultation has commenced and will close at 12pm on Monday 14 May 2018.

The National Law sets out the accreditation functions in the National Scheme; these include developing accreditation standards, accrediting programs of study against approved accreditation standards and assessing overseas qualified practitioners.

It is each National Board’s decision as to whether the accreditation functions for the profession it regulates will be carried out by an external accreditation body or a committee established by the Board. If the National Board decides on an external organisation, AHPRA enters a contract with them which specifies the scope of accreditation functions and sets out associated reporting requirements and funding arrangements. If the National Board decides on a committee, these matters are specified in terms of reference.

National Boards will take feedback into account in making decisions about the assignment of accreditation functions from mid 2019. Feedback will also be considered in the next phase of the review, which will involve establishing new agreements with external accreditation authorities and terms of reference for accreditation committees.

The consultation paper is available under Consultations, and AHPRA and the National Boards invite feedback from practitioners, stakeholders and the community.

You can provide feedback using one of the following options:

• Complete the survey by 12pm on 14 May 2018  OR
• Email a submission marked ‘Scheduled review of accreditation assignments’ to accreditationreview@ahpra.gov.au by 12pm on 14 May 2018.

Submissions to this consultation may be published on the AHPRA website. There may be circumstances under which submissions may not be published. Published submissions will include the names of individuals and/or organisations that made the submission unless confidentiality is requested.