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NSQHS Standards resource hub

Resources to support implementation of the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (NSQHS Standards).

Where to start

The NSQHS Standards, together with the relevant guide for the heath setting you work in and the accreditation workbook, provide the baseline for implementation. The standards describe what is required of a health service, and the guides and workbook provide supporting information such as reflective questions, key tasks, examples of evidence and strategies for improvement.

The monitoring tools allow you to track progress against implementation.

We also have guidance on using the PICMoRS method for quality improvement and assessment preparation.

Accreditation scheme resources

These resources support assessors and health services to understand the requirements of the Australian Health Service Safety and Quality Accreditation Scheme (AHSSQA Scheme) and the NSQHS Standards. They also help with assessment preparation and completion.

Detailed information about the assessment process can be found on our accreditation page.
 

Summary of advisories, fact sheets and guides

This summary page provides links to advisories, fact sheets and guide that relate to specific actions in the NSQHS Standards.
 

Guides to support continuous quality improvement

Guides for priority populations

The following guides have been designed to help services improve the care they provide to patients who may be at higher risk of experiencing poor health outcomes.

The NSQHS Standards User Guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health provides practical strategies for addressing the six actions in the NSQHS Standards that focus specifically on meeting the needs of First Nations people.

The NSQHS Standards User Guide for the Health Care of People with Intellectual Disability provides strategies for improvement that relate to each action in the NSQHS Standards. The strategies outline specific ways you can support people with intellectual disability and help them get the care they need and deserve. 

The NSQHS Standards User guide for acute and community health service organisations that provide care for children identifies areas in which special consideration is required by health services providing care for children. There are suggested approaches for each criterion in the NSQHS Standards that can help you plan, implement and evaluate services for children.

The NSQHS Standards User guide for health service organisations providing care for patients from migrant and refugee backgrounds focuses on five actions from the NSQHS standards where specific efforts are required to meet the health care needs of people from migrant and refugee backgrounds. It provides reflective questions and strategies for improvement, as well as useful information about why migrant and refuges populations may need extra support.

The NSQHS Standards User guide for health service organisations providing care for patients with cognitive impairment or at risk of delirium outlines critical actions in the NSQHS Standards that support safe and high-quality care for patients with cognitive impairment or at risk of delirium.

The NSQHS Standards User guide for health services providing care for people with mental health issues is intended to support members of the workforce when they are providing health services to people with existing or emerging mental health issues. It highlights which actions in the NSQHS Standards support the delivery of health care for people with mental health issues and provides strategies for improvements and examples of evidence.

Guides for different settings and specific types of care

Clinical fact sheets

Research

Cultural safety research

Live literature searches

These PubMed live searches have been developed, tested and endorsed as part of the Health Libraries for the National Standards Research Project (HeLiNS), a joint initiative of Health Libraries Australia and Health Libraries Inc.

The searches provide updated results for topics aligned to NSQHS Standards. 

Access the live literature searches

  • Clinicians working in Australian hospitals who wish to find evidence to support best practice in line with the NSQHS Standards
  • Researchers
  • Safety and quality staff
  • Health service managers
  • Policymakers
  • Consumers
  • Health librarians

These searches provide access to current evidence on 13 topics related to best practice in Australian health services.

  • Health Literacy
  • Shared decision making
  • Blood Management
  • Clinical Handover
  • Delirium
  • Deteriorating Patient
  • Falls Prevention
  • Infection Prevention
  • Malnutrition
  • Medication Safety
  • Partnering with Consumers
  • Pressure Injuries
  • Wound Management

The searches are not intended to be comprehensive. They aim to provide high specificity (relevance) so that results returned will be of immediate use. The base search for each topic focuses on a hospital setting and is limited to the last 5 years. Subsets are provided for each topic, including:

  • Australian only
  • last 12 months only
  • reviews
  • guidelines
  • quality improvement

These searches work best in the Chrome and Firefox browsers. All queries concerning the live literature searches should be directed to Gemma Siemensma via email.

Last updated: 29 April 2026