To assist general practices and in line with COVID-19 social distancing measures, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission) is maintaining requirements for accreditation to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Standards for general practices, effective immediately. These changes are being enacted as part of the National General Practice Accreditation (NGPA) Scheme.

• The accreditation status of general practices will be maintained during the response phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. These arrangements will be monitored with changes anticipated in the recovery phase of the pandemic.
• General practices that have completed an onsite assessment and are in the remediation phase of their assessment cycle and require an onsite assessment to complete the final assessment, will not be assessed until the recovery phase commences.
• Reintroduction of onsite assessments will take into consideration the lead-time for planning and preparation of assessments.

The intent of these measures is to maximise the capacity of the health system to deliver care during a period of unprecedented demand, and for assessors and the general practice workforce to comply with social distancing requirements. As the implementation of the changes is administrative, general practices are not required to take any further action at this time.

While the Commission recognises the unprecedented impacts on the day-to-day operations of general practices, it is more important than ever that general practices comply with the RACGP Standards for general practices, in particular infection prevention and control measures.

Further explanatory information is available on the Commission's website or via the Advice Centre. Please email your query to accreditation@safetyandquality.gov.au and include your contact number.  A member of the Advice Centre will then contact you as soon as practical.