Edition 79, June 2010

New national accreditation body for nursing and midwifery courses

New national accreditation body for nursingFrom 1 July 2010 the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC) will be the independent accrediting body for nursing and midwifery.

The decision brings nursing and midwifery in line with other professions under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) for Health Professionals, which already have independent accrediting bodies.

The decision moves away from the current system of state and territory nursing and midwifery regulatory authorities accrediting nursing and midwifery courses. The national approach is consistent with other professions under the NRAS and provides a commitment to safety and quality to ensure high standards in nursing and midwifery education are maintained.

Over the past year an ANMC Accreditation Working Group has met several times to define the details of the accreditation process, policies and procedures. ANMC's accreditation process will be in place for 1 July 2010 for new courses only and over the next 18 months will prepare for the accreditation process of those courses accredited in the transitional period to 2012.

The ANMC website will provide accreditation guidelines that explain the steps and timeframes of the accreditation process and outcomes. Alongside the guidelines will be the ANMD National Accreditation Framework for the Accreditation of Nursing and Midwifery Courses leading to Registration, Enrolment, Endorsement and Authorisation in Australia.

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia has endorsed the ANMC Accreditation Standards and Criteria for the Registered Nurse, Enrolled Nurse, Midwife and Nurse Practitioner. These are the standards to be used by all Education Providers when applying for accreditation or reaccreditation.

As the ANMC is an independent accreditation body it will be required to function on a fee-for-service basis, with the introduction of payment for all accreditations. A payment scale has not yet been finalised, however details of this will be advised via the ANMC website.

For more information visit www.anmc.org.au/accreditation  or email the ANMC Accreditation section at anmc@anmc.org.au  

This page was generated on 09 July, 2010