National Safety and Quality Standards Orientation Courses
The Commission develops courses that provide an overview of National Safety and Quality Standards and assessment under the rules of the Australian Health Service Safety and Quality Accreditation (AHSSQA) Scheme.
The Commission's training modules are foundational and aim to ensure that new assessors have the appropriate skills and knowledge to:
- Work within the rules of the Australian Health Service Safety and Quality Accreditation (AHSSQA) Scheme
- Practically apply structured frameworks for an assessment
- Locate and use resources developed to support assessment and implementation of National Safety and Quality Standards.
New NSQHS Standards Assessor Orientation course 2026
- An updated, shorter NSQHS Standards course is now available
- Self-enrolment for the updated course is available via https://assessororientation.safetyandquality.gov.au/
- All NSQHS Standards 2019c courses will close at the end of January 2026, however certificates of completion will remain available
Becoming an assessor
The Commission's training is developed for those who wish to become an assessor. The courses provide information on the rules of the AHSSQA Scheme; how to practically apply a structured assessment framework at assessment (PICMoRS) and the resources available to support assessment and implementation.
Where the Commission makes available specific training, assessors are required to complete this training prior to commencing assessment. However, to be able to identify what safe, good quality care looks like, assessors must possess the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience relevant to the health care sector in which they are assessing. Where there is no specific training for a set of standards developed by the Commission, the NSQHS Standards orientation course must be completed.
Assessors are engaged directly by approved accrediting agencies, and they will specify desirable selection criteria. For further information contact the agency to discuss their assessor recruitment processes. A list of the current approved accrediting agencies is available on the Commission's website.
Updated NSQHS Standards Orientation Course
An updated NSQHS Standards orientation course describes the rules of the AHSSQA Scheme and demonstrates the assessor journey as they conduct an accreditation assessment.
The updated course consists of three modules:
- Module 1: AHSSQA scheme
- Module 2: National Safety and Quality in Health Service (NSQHS) Standards
- Module 3: Clinical Governance.
Actions from each Standard have been selected to highlight how an assessment is conducted using the PICMoRS assessment framework. The modules include questions to test trainee knowledge.
Each module takes around 60 minutes to complete and is accompanied by a training compendium that provides links to resources and other material.
Enrolment and log in details
People wishing to become an assessor must complete all modules relevant to the sector they are assessing.
A certificate of completion will be issued along with a Commission unique assessor ID. (To reduce duplication, please do not register multiple times). You can access all courses using your current profile.
Members of the workforce and consumers are welcome to complete the courses if they want to learn more about the assessment process. A certificate will be issued for each module completed.
The courses do not cover implementation of safety and quality standards. This information can be found in user guides and resources relevant to each set of standards.
- To enrol in a course, self-enrolment for the updated course is available via https://assessororientation.safetyandquality.gov.au/
- Once enrolled you can log in and access the courses
Enquiries, technical issues and troubleshooting
It is recommended that users have access to the latest version of Google Chrome web browser and that pop-ups are enabled.
For any questions or technical issues please complete this form or contact the Safety and Quality Advice Centre: AdviceCentre@safetyandquality.gov.au
Note: National Safety and Quality Standards written by the Commission and the rules of the AHSSQA Scheme apply to the Australian health care context. They cannot be used in any other country without the written permission of the Commission.