Accreditation Alliance Australia–New Zealand (AAA-NZ) formed in 2010 when a group of quality consultants and assessors, from both nations, responded to primary health and social services sector concerns and feedback about duplications, reporting burdens and lack of acknowledgement of culture.

The alliance members wanted to design a a standards framework in a more contemporary, approach that could streamline duplication and still incorporate the universal characteristics considered as essential to any organisation with an established culture of quality. So although it takes a fresh approach the AAA-NZ framework is consistent with international accreditation process and protocols.

The standards have been assessed by ISQua, an international standards accreditation organisation and received praise for its design and two exceeded ratings for cultural content and quality improvement integration. Te Wana Trust is authorised to deliver the programme in Aotearoa and Australia.

Accreditation certifies that the organisation has met the relevant Standards and is participating in a Quality Programme to build continuous quality improvement.  Accreditation is awarded for 3 years.  On meeting the Programme Requirements, an organisation is awarded an Accreditation Certificate and is able to use its accreditation status for promotional, grant application and program development purposes, for example, presentation of a logo on stationery and promotional documents.

Having defined what accreditation is, it is important to state what it is not. Accreditation in itself cannot be a guarantee that the organisation is mistake-free, or that it is fully compliant with all legislation or government funding guidelines.  As it builds continuous quality improvement however, a Quality Programme will help you develop systems and processes for investigating and redressing mistakes, and better tracking your compliance with regulations and guidelines.