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About the Clinical Care Standards

Our Clinical Care Standards describe the care that people can expect to be offered for a specific clinical condition, treatment or procedure no matter where they are treated in Australia.

We’ve had 10 years of Clinical Care Standards in Australia!
To celebrate the occasion, five health services were recognised with Clinical Care Standards Excellence Awards in 2025. Learn from their achievements and their tips for success in our webinar - Clinical Care Standards on the frontline: Five Stories of Excellence. 

What are Clinical Care Standards?

Clinical Care Standards describe the care that people can expect to be offered for a specific condition, treatment or procedure regardless of where they are receiving care in Australia.

They play an important role in the delivery of high-quality care and are based on general principles for providing care that is person centred, culturally safe, equitable and appropriate.

Clinical Care Standards are developed by the Commission to address priority areas for quality improvement. Many are based on data suggesting unwarranted variation in care.  

View our Clinical Care Standards
 

Using Clinical Care Standards

Each Clinical Care Standard contains:

  • quality statements describing the care that should be offered
  • information about what each quality statement means for
    • consumers and patients
    • clinicians
    • healthcare services
  • indicators to support local quality improvement.

We also provide resources to help implement the Clinical Care Standards.

 

Clinical Care Standard quality statements

Each Clinical Care Standard includes quality statements which describe the care that should be offered for a specific condition. The quality statements are selected and developed based on information about current variation from best practice and evidence about what works in terms of treatments, procedures and processes. They outline priority areas for quality improvement.

Supporting information is provided for each quality statement for: 

  • consumers, so they know the care they can expect for a particular condition and can make informed decisions about their treatment
  • clinicians, to support decisions about appropriate care and have informed discussions with consumers about treatment options
  • healthcare services, to inform them of the policies, procedures, and organisational factors that can enable the delivery of high quality care 

This information is provided within the Clinical Care Standards and in information sheets for consumers, clinicians and healthcare services.

 

Indicators for measuring and monitoring

A set of indicators is included in all Clinical Care Standards to support clinicians and healthcare services to monitor how well they are implementing the care described in the Clinical Care Standard. 

The indicators are a tool to support local quality improvement activities and there are no benchmarks set for any indicator. 

Indicator data may be collected from local sources through prospective data collection, retrospective chart audits or review of policies and protocols.

Indicator monitoring tools are available for some Clinical Care Standards (Sepsis and AMS Clinical Care Standards).

Indicator specifications

When using the indicators, please refer to the definitions which are specified online at the METEOR website. METEOR provides the definitions required to collect and calculate data for the Clinical Care Standards indicators which explain what to collect for the numerator and denominator, applicable settings for data collection and other important information. Links to METEOR are provided with the indicators accompanying each Clinical Care Standard.

METEOR is an Australian web-based repository of nationally endorsed data and indicator definitions, hosted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

Other measurement for improvement tools 

We have a range of other tools for measuring and exploring data. Some of these are also relevant to measuring the outcomes of care described in the Clinical Care Standards.

Patient experience measures

Patient experience measures (PREMs) allow for the systematic and routine monitoring of patient experiences, enabling their perspectives to be used to drive service improvements and patient centred care. 

Patient-reported outcome measures

Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) capture a person’s perception of their own health through standardised, validated questionnaires. They enable patients to report on their quality of life, daily functioning, symptoms, and other aspects of their health and well-being. They are often administered at least twice to an individual patient – at baseline and again after an intervention – or at regular intervals during a chronic illness. 

PROMs help clinicians and healthcare services provide the care that patients need and want and fill a vital gap in our knowledge about outcomes that matter to patients.
 

Applying Clinical Care Standards – National Safety and Quality Standards 

Clinical Care Standards are developed for quality improvement and to support high-quality care and are available for any healthcare setting to use for this purpose.

In addition, Clinical Care Standards play a role in the accreditation of healthcare services assessed to the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards and to the National Safety and Quality Primary and Community Healthcare Standards. 

Services assessed to the NSQHS Standards are expected to identify relevant Clinical Care Standards and implement those that will reduce risk to patients, improve quality, and address local areas of unwarranted variation in process or outcomes, or from best practice, according to their local quality improvement priorities. 

View our fact sheet on how our Clinical Care Standards relate to our national standards

 

General principles of care that apply to all Clinical Care Standards

Clinical Care Standards should be implemented as part of an overall approach to improving safety, quality, and appropriateness of care, which includes the relevant National Safety and Quality Standards for the setting and the following aspects of high-quality care.

Cultural safety and equity in health care

Addressing inequity requires recognition that people with different levels of advantage may require different approaches and resources to achieve the same healthcare outcomes. 

When implementing our Clinical Care Standards, cultural safety can be improved through:

  • embedding an organisational approach to cultural safety
  • specific considerations for patients described within the relevant quality statements. 

Organisational approaches include: 

  • offering interpreter services and cultural translators when this will assist the patient and is in line with their wishes
  • considering the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and health professionals and how their involvement could improve care
  • identifying variation in health care provision or outcomes for specific patient populations – for example, based on ethnicity
  • disaggregating data by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status when using indicators, which supports identification of access and outcome issues so that improvements can be made
  • implementing and monitoring the six specific actions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander care outlined for acute care services in our national standards and primary and civic healthcare standards.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, care should be provided in a way that is respectful of, and responsive to, cultural beliefs and practices, while addressing the disparities faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

View our user guide to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health

 

FAQs for clinicians and consumers

Clinicians

Quality statements describe high priority areas for quality improvement. They are identified based on areas of current variation, information about what we know works in terms of treatments, procedures and processes, and what care should be offered to a patient. 

Indicators accompany the quality statements to assist local health services to monitor how well they implement the care described in the clinical care standard. They are NOT a set of targets or mandatory indicators for performance management.

No, they are not. Clinical Care Standards contain a small number of succinct statements on key areas of clinical practice for a specific condition where there is evidence of variation from best practice, or avoidable patient harm. They are based on clinical guidelines and their recommendations. Clinical guidelines detail all aspects of treatment and care for a specific condition. They are broader and extensive.

All topic working group members are required to disclose financial, personal and professional interests that could, or could be perceived to influence a decision made, or advice given to the Commission. Disclosures are required every time the topic working group members meet and the information is managed in line with the Commission's Policy on Disclosure of Interests.

The Clinical Care Standards help people to know what care may be offered and can make informed decisions in partnership with their clinician.

The Clinical Care Standards provide guidance to clinicians so they can make to support decisions about appropriate care 

Clinicians are health professionals who deliver direct clinical care to patients including doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and pharmacists.
 

The Clinical Care Standards inform healthcare service managers, leaders and governance groups to inform them of the policies, procedures, and organisational factors that can enable the delivery of high quality care described in the Clinical Care Standard. They can be used to support and monitor improvement in hospitals and other services where the Clinical Care Standard is applicable.

The Clinical Care Standards provide guidance on appropriate care for a specific clinical condition, treatment or procedure. 

The NSQHS Standards set out the minimum performance expectations, processes and structures that should be in place for a healthcare service to provide safe and high-quality care. 

Relevant NSQHS Standards that relate to the Clinical Care Standard include the: 

  • Governance for Safety and Quality Standard– in particular Action 1.27 and 1.28
  • Partnering with Consumers Standard. 

Used together, the Clinical Care Standards and the NSQHS Standards aim to ensure people will receive safe, high quality appropriate care.

See also our fact sheet on the Applicability of Clinical Care Standards 

Monitoring quality of care is an effective way of identifying areas that require improvement. Clinical Care Standards include indicators to support local implementation and quality improvement. Services are not required to use all the Clinical Care Standard indicators. Services should prioritise their resources to focus on measurement that is expected to be most beneficial to local quality improvement. Data collection may be ongoing or through periodic audits. Services may also use other indicators to monitor implementation of the Clinical Care Standards.

See also our fact sheet on the Applicability of Clinical Care Standards 

Consumers

A Clinical Care Standard describes important parts of the care you should be offered if you have a particular health condition. You can use the Clinical Care Standard to guide discussions with your health care professional about your care

Clinical Care Standards are designed for clinicians and healthcare services. However each Clinical Care Standard includes information for consumers and patients and information about helpful resources.
 

Clinical Care Standards highlight a small number of key areas and do not provide information about all aspects of treatment and care for a specific condition. They are different from clinical guidelines, which contain details of all aspects of treatment and care for a specific condition. 

A Clinical Care Standard will give you information about the care that you may be offered for your health condition. This can help you have discussions with your healthcare professionals, such as doctors and nurses and can help you make informed decisions in partnership with their clinician.
 

Quality statements describe what care should usually be offered to a patient, based on information about what we know works in terms of treatments, procedures and processes. 

Each quality statement provides information about what the statement means for consumers and patients
 

Each Clinical Care Standard is guided by a topic working group which includes clinicians, consumers and researchers from around Australia. We also consult with peak consumer organisations during the development process. For new Clinical Care Standards, a public consultation is conducted, and consumers are invited to provide feedback during consultation.

Patients have the right to involve the people they choose in planning and making decisions about their care. This may be family members, carers, friends or consumer advocates such as social workers. Where our Clinical Care Standard refers to discussions with patients about their care, this should be understood to include family, carers and support people if this is what the patient wishes.

Development of Clinical Care Standards

Clinical Care Standards are developed based on evidence and through a consultative process. 

Find out how we develop Clinical Care Standards and our consultation and endorsement processes.

How do we select topics for Clinical Care Standards?

When selecting topics for Clinical Care Standards, we are guided by national data on current clinical practice and areas of unwarranted variation,  taking into account:

  • the potential to reduce unwarranted variation in care
  • availability of high-quality, current clinical practice guidelines, standards or evidence for a clinical practice area
  • opportunities to reduce the risk of harm or improve clinical outcomes and experiences for consumers
  • the potential to measure improvements in clinical outcomes
  • priorities for the Commission and for our key stakeholders.

Potential topics are assessed systematically before being approved for development. 

How are Clinical Care Standards developed?

We use the most up to date clinical guidelines and standards, information about variation and gaps in care, the expertise of health professionals and researchers, and the perspectives of consumers when developing our Clinical Care Standards.

The process includes 

  • assessing relevant guidelines, evidence and data
  • an environmental scan of existing measures and indicators
  • stakeholder consultation
  • development of quality statements and indicators
  • consultation
  • endorsement by peak bodies and professional organisations.

The Clinical Care Standards are approved by the Commission’s Board. State and Territory representatives on the Commission’s Inter-Jurisdictional Committee are asked to endorse the Standards and Health Chief Executives in each Standard are notified about all new and updated Clinical Care Standards and their role in the healthcare system

How are the indicators developed?

We develop indicators by:

  • reviewing existing Australian and international indicators
  • considering appropriate quality improvement measures for the quality statements
  • prioritising, reviewing, and refining indicators with the topic working group. 
     

When are Clinical Care Standards reviewed?

Clinical Care Standards are periodically reviewed for currency and to reflect new evidence or changes in care, or new quality improvement priorities.

You can find out which Clinical Care Standards which are currently under review on our Clinical Care Standards webpage.

How do we involve stakeholders during development?

We engage with stakeholders in several ways when developing our Clinical Care Standards, including by:

  • establishing a topic working group to advise during development
  • consultation before developing a new Standard or reviewing an existing one
  • formal consultation processes before finalising a Standard
  • requesting endorsement from key organisations. 

What is the role of topic working groups in developing our Clinical Care Standards?

A multidisciplinary topic working group is formed for each Clinical Care Standard which includes clinicians, consumers and researchers from around Australia.

This group considers the most current evidence, has expertise and knowledge of the issues affecting the appropriate delivery of care, and considers issues that are important to consumers.

We identify members from a variety of sources including through consultation with key organisations and identification of individuals with relevant expertise. Members are generally appointed as individuals and not as representatives of any organisation. 

We aim to ensure topic working groups are balanced in terms of research expertise, consumer experience, diversity of locations and healthcare settings across Australia. 

Group numbers are limited to ensure a manageable size. Information on the membership of each topic working group is published with the Clinical Care Standard. Information on the membership of each TWG is published on the Commission website.

The main roles of each group is to:

  • provide expert advice on the development of the Clinical Care Standard and related guidance materials
  • advise on the key sources of evidence to inform the Clinical Care Standard, which may include clinical practice guidelines, systematic reviews, evidence on current practice and quality improvement measures
  • advise on the formulation of quality statements and supporting indicators
  • support and promote the Clinical Care Standards including communication with stakeholder organisations, professional organisations, peak bodies and health service organisations.

All topic working group members are required to disclose financial, personal and professional interests that could, or could be perceived to, influence a decision made, or advice given to the Commission. Disclosures are managed in line with our disclosure of interests policy.

When do we consult about Clinical Care Standards?

Before we develop a new Standard or revise an existing one, we seek comments from key stakeholders.

During the development of each new Clinical Care Standard, we conduct a public consultation process and publish the consultation draft on our webste. When Clinical Care Standards are reviewed or updated, we conduct a targeted consultation with key stakeholders. 

We also consult through our own governance committees, including the Inter-Jurisdictional Committee, Board and its Subcommittees for primary care and the private hospital sector. This allows us to obtain perspectives from across Australia and from healthcare setttings relevant to the Clinical Care Standard.

Professional organisations, peak bodies and consumer organisations are usually invited to consider endorsing a Clinical Care Standard during the consultation period. This means their feedback can be taken into account before the final version is completed.

Following consultation, we review all comments and takes them into account before finalising the draft Clinical Care Standard.

You can find out about current consultations on our website or through our newsletter.

If you have comments or questions about a Clinical Care Standard at any time, you are welcome to email the Clinical Care Standards

How are our Clinical Care Standards endorsed?

Endorsement is a fundamental part of governance and stakeholder engagement when developing our Clinical Care Standards. 

We seek endorsement from key professional and consumer bodies to communicate their support for the quality of care that each standard describes. 

Our consultation and endorsement statement provides an overview of our approach to consultation and endorsement.

Consultation with State and Territory-based health services are conducted through our Inter-Jurisdictional Committee, who endorse our Clinical Care Standards prior to their approval by our Board. Health Chief Executives in each state and territory and the Commonwealth are notified and advised when Clinical Care Standards are available for use. 

How are Clinical Care Standards evaluated?

Our Clinical Care Standards are evaluated against the key goals and objectives in our program logic, which describes the model for how Clinical Care Standards are developed and implemented to influence care. 

Evaluations focus on: 

  • relevance and feasibility to implement
  • adoption and use
  • championing by stakeholder and interest groups
  • improvements in quality of care.

Delivering on ‘right care, right place, right time’. How Clinical Care Standards are improving health care in Australia: An evaluation report

The impact of Clinical Care Standards can also be seen through changes in relevant data including:

How can I provide feedback?

You can email us with feedback and questions about Clinical Care Standards. 

Last updated: 13 March 2026