Accreditation

Accreditation provides assurances to the community that a general practice meets expected standards for safety and quality via a formal program, in which trained independent reviewers assess a general practice’s implementation of the RACGP Standards for general practices.

National Genral Practice Accreditation Scheme (NGPA)

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care is responsible for managing a number of national accreditation schemes, including the National General Practice Accreditation (NGPA) Scheme. General practices participating in the NGPA Scheme are assessed against the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Standards for general practices (5th edition) and the RACGP Standards for point-of-care testing (5th edition). 

Achieving and maintaining accreditation is a key requirement for access to the Department of Health’s programs such as Practice Incentives Program (PIP), Workplace Incentive Program (WIP) – Practice Stream and MyMedicare.

General practices will need to commence coordination of assessment processes between 12 to 18 months from its accreditation expiry date. An accreditation cycle is generally three years, with an assessment occurring before the end of each three-year cycle. The initial assessment should be undertaken at least four months and no more than eight months before this expiry date. This gives general practices time to have: 

• 5 business days after the initial assessment to receive the interim report of ‘not met’ indicators which they must address 
• up to 65 business days (90 days) for remediation of any of the indicators identified as ‘not met’ at the on-site assessment

Accrediting agencies then have 20 business days (30 days) to provide the general practice with its final report, which completes the assessment process. The accreditation flow chart for the NGPA Scheme can be found here.

Exemptions for non-traditional practices

Following consultation the definition of a general practice has been expanded by RACGP, providing an opportunity for more practices to benefit from enhanced quality and safety and practice incentive payments. 

The RACGP Interpretative guide for non-traditional general practices for the purposes of accreditation provides general practices and accreditation assessors information to understand how the RACGP 5th Edition standards apply to general practices previously not eligible for accreditation. The interpretive guide outlines how indicators in the standards may apply differently or may not be relevant to non-traditional practices and those without a physical clinic premises.

Whilst MyMedicare, and the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive require a practice to be accredited, an exemption is in place until 30 June 2025. This will enable ‘non-traditional practices’ such as mobile general practitioners providing essential visiting services to Residential Aged Care Homes to participate in MyMedicare, and the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive. Non-traditional practices do not need to indicate their intention to become accredited to register and participate during the exemption period. Follow the links below to:

1. Register your organisation with Services Australia, and
2. Register for the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive

Get support

Accreditation providers have dedicated support and resources including fact sheets, templates and webinars. They can provide personalised support and guide you through every step of your accreditation journey. 

AGPAL offer training and webinar resources via their website. Quality Practice Accreditation (QPA) webinars and resources can also be found online.

We are in the process of reviewing our support for your accreditation. Whilst we work through this process, on-site mock accreditation visits are presently unavailable.  

 Our Practice Support team can continue to support you with the accreditation process and provide relevant resources or information. You can also access the Practice Support website where you can find some helpful resources and templates.