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Public consultation on potential changes to the accreditation of general practices

Closed 4 April 2025

Feedback is being sought from the general practice sector on potential changes to the accreditation cycle and assessment of general practices. Your views are important in shaping any changes to the National General Practice Accreditation (NGPA) Scheme.
 

Overview

Under the NGPA Scheme, the current accreditation process involves a routine assessment, which is announced and on-site, against all relevant indicators of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Standards for general practices (the Standards), at the beginning of the accreditation cycle. General practices that are fully compliant are awarded accreditation for three years. 

General practices are expected to maintain compliance throughout the three-year cycle, but there is no mechanism to monitor this. The assessment outcomes data show that 22% of accredited general practices meet all mandatory indicators at their subsequent assessment. Of the general practices with 'not met' indicators, most don't meet five or fewer indicators and receive accreditation after a period of remediation. However, the current process does not promote ongoing compliance with the Standards.

The main issues raised by general practices include:

  • Administrative burden - accreditation-related activities are often condensed into a short period of time, amplifying the administrative burden
  • Staff shortages and changes - resulting in loss of corporate knowledge of accreditation processes, timelines, and requirements
  • Pressure to meet deadlines - meaning accreditation can be viewed as a tick-box activity, rather than a reliable safety and quality assurance mechanism.

Changes to the NGPA Scheme are being considered to support general practices in providing consistently safe and high-quality care and meeting the Standards on a day-to-day basis. 
 

Potential changes

Through initial consultation with key stakeholders from the general practice sector, two potential options have been proposed for consideration:

This option would involve extending the length of the accreditation cycle to potentially four or more years. The accreditation process would still involve an announced routine assessment against all relevant indicators of the Standards. 

There would be at least one mid-point review to provide insight into how the general practice is meeting the Standards in preparation for the subsequent assessment.

A general practice that is fully compliant would be awarded accreditation for four or more years.

Short notice assessments (SNAs) would involve a routine assessment against all relevant indicators of the Standards, conducted with a short period of notice.

This option changes routine assessments from being scheduled at least four months before accreditation expiry to being conducted with up to one month's notice during the accreditation cycle. SNAs must occur at least six months after the last routine assessment and four months before accreditation expiry. Fully compliant general practices receive a three-year accreditation.

SNAs would transfer the focus from preparing for an announced assessment, which become a managed event, to embedding and maintaining safety and quality requirements and an assessment of daily operations. 

Consultation resources

An overview of these options and the purpose of the consultation are outlined in the Overview of potential changes to the accreditation of general practices.

Overview of potential changes to the accreditation of general practices

A detailed analysis of these options is available in the Options for potential changes to the accreditation of general practices.

Options for potential changes to the accreditation of general practices

These resources are here to help you make an informed choice. It is recommended that you read them before taking the survey.

Alternate suggestions or ideas on how the accreditation process and experience could be improved are also welcomed.
 

Frequently asked questions

These FAQs provide some further information about the NGPA Scheme.

The Commission leads and coordinates key improvements in safety and quality in health care across Australia.

The Commission works in partnership with patients, carers, clinicians, the Australian state and territory health systems, the private sector, managers and healthcare organisations to achieve a safe, high-quality and sustainable health system.

Key functions of the Commission include: 

The NGPA Scheme aims to provide national consistency of assessment and accreditation of general practices to the Standards. The NGPA Scheme was developed in collaboration with the RACGP and commenced on 1 January 2017.

The key stakeholders of the NGPA Scheme are members of the General Practice Accreditation Coordinating Committee (GPACC) and the General Practice Accrediting Agency Working Group (GPAAWG).

GPACC consists of Australian Association of Practice Management, Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, Australian Practice Nurse Association, Consumer Health Forum, Department of Health and Aged Care, RACGP, and Western NSW Primary Health Network.

GPAAWG consists of AGPAL Group of Companies, Australian Council on Healthcare Standards, Global-Mark Pty Ltd, and Quality Practice Accreditation Pty Ltd.

Assessments under the NGPA Scheme are conducted by an accrediting agency approved by the Commission. Accreditation provides assurances to the community that a general practice meets expected standards for safety and quality. It is a formal program in which trained independent reviewers assess a general practice’s evidence of implementation of the Standards.

Currently, one assessment is conducted at the beginning of the accreditation cycle.

This assessment generally consists of an initial assessment, a remediation period, a final assessment, and a determination of the accreditation outcome.

If a general practice is fully compliant to the Standards, accreditation is awarded for 3 years.

A flow chart of the accreditation cycle can be found below.

Accreditation cycle flow chart for the National General Practice Accreditation Scheme

The Commission does not have a role in setting costs associated with accreditation.

The accreditation cost is determined by accrediting agencies conducting the assessments. Various factors such as the number of assessments and/or reviews in an accreditation cycle, the location of the general practice, and the number of full-time equivalent General Practitioners could affect the cost. Any changes to one or more of these factors may increase costs.

The Commission is working closely with the RACGP regarding the release of the 6th edition of the Standards and will work in collaboration to ensure any changes to the accreditation cycle and the assessment processes are implemented in line with the 6th edition of the Standards.

Following the public consultation, the Commission will:

  1. Analyse the feedback received through the public consultation and draft a consultation report
  2. Coordinate a review of the report by the key stakeholders if changes are to be implemented.

More information

If you have any questions about the NGPA Scheme or this consultation, you can contact the team via nationalgpaccreditation@safetyandquality.gov.au.
 

Background

The Commission, in collaboration with the RACGP, developed the NGPA Scheme, which commenced on 1 January 2017. The NGPA Scheme supports the accreditation of Australian general practices to the RACGP Standards for general practices and the RACGP Standards for point-of-care testing (as of November 2021).

Accreditation provides assurances to the community that a general practice meets expected standards for safety and quality. It is a formal program in which trained independent reviewers assess a general practice’s evidence of implementation of the RACGP Standards for general practices and the RACGP Standards for point-of-care testing.