AAA-NZ and Te Wana
The Te Wana Quality Programme (Te Wana) is the main agency to deliver the standards and quality framework of Accreditation Alliance Australia-New Zealand (AAA-NZ).
Accreditation Alliance Standards and Te Wana Quality Program
The alliance group is an association of Australian and New Zealand quality practitioners who have worked extensively in health, education and community services for over 40 years and in the accreditation sector nationally and internationally for more than 20 years.
During these years they noted the feedback and ongoing complaints in the community sector about being subject to multiple audit and accreditation requirements. Some audits only view policy or finance documents, many don’t take a holistic view of an organisation, or lack cultural aspects and do not assess or take into account client feedback or outcomes.
During the mid 2000s more emphasis by government was placed on audit and compliance models. The use of minimum requirements is now recognised as driving quality down and even pushing it off the agenda. The alliance continued to advocate against ‘tick box’ quality and to support reflective practise for continuous improvement that recognises that while compliance audits are essential, innovation also needs to be fostered and can be stifled by audit control.
In 2010 this alliance evolved into a Quality Standards accreditation framework – Accreditation Alliance Australia-New Zealand (AAA-NZ) that represents concepts of quality through asking each individual to strive for excellence in all they do.
In 2013 AAA-NZ formally recognised Te Wana Quality Programme as having shared values and principles and selected them as its main agency to deliver their standards and quality framework.
AAA-NZ acknowledges and pays respect to First Nations people of New Zealand/Aotearoa and Australia as its ‘whāriki’ or foundation philosophy.
The AAA-NZ Quality Standards Framework Design
The framework is based on a service excellence system; the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and a balanced scorecard approach. It is specifically tailored for the not-for-profit community services and primary health care sectors with accompanying resources including examples of sector good practice.
Annual certification or three year accreditation can be gained through participation and achievement of a satisfactory rating in an external assessment process conducted by the AAA-NZ trained assessors.
AAA-NZ has mapped its standards and criteria against the several frameworks including Quality and Safety Commission Australia and New Zealand Standards, as well as having been externally mapped and acknowledged as equivalent to the Australian Service Excellence Standards (ASES).
AAA-NZ accreditation covers organisations as a whole and has service delivery health care standards specific to the community and primary health care sector. Medical clinics however must hold a mandated professional body accreditation for clinical care provision.
Particular consideration has been given in the development of this framework to being responsive to services and reviewers that work with Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Māori and Pacific Nations peoples. New Zealand/Aotearoa has required standards additional to the foundation standards that acknowledge Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the ‘whāriki’ or foundation upon which true partnership is developed.
This framework is consistent with current good practice models for people, policy, and process system components. It includes key organisational elements such effective governance, stakeholder/client involvement, information management, skills and competence and ongoing professional development and education.
There is a result and outcome-based performance perspective to the standards and indicators that measure results and continual improvement.
AAA-NZ and Te Wana share a commitment to having contemporary sector knowledge and experience as an integral and valued part of the assessment process and develop peer reviewers for this reason. Peer Reviewers attend training and are guided in the process of assessing organisations rating by checklists of evidence to validate systems, practices and achieved outcomes.
In addition to rating the standards, assessors complete a Quality Culture Profile as a general indication of the organisation’s position on a matrix continuum related to the core concepts of quality. It signposts areas for further development as well as highlight capabilities to celebrate. The profile is included in the report at the conclusion of the external assessment.
Quality Standards for Community Based Services
The AAA-NZ quality framework is designed to support employees, management, governance, infrastructure systems and client services be compatible with the specific characteristics of a quality culture. The quality standards are:
