ANMAC is an external accreditation entity that exercises accreditation functions on behalf of the NMBA and in accordance with the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, as enforced in each state and territory. Please see About us for further details.

Accreditation standards are a mechanism for establishing the agreed level of quality or attainment required in professional education programs. Accreditation standards are used by ANMAC to assess whether programs and education providers meet the agreed standard for nursing and midwifery pre-registration and pre-endorsement programs of study. Assessing and accrediting professional education programs is part of a broader process of assuring the community, that having completed an accredited program, practitioners have achieved outcomes agreed to by the profession and are able to practise safely and in a manner equipped with the necessary foundation knowledge, professional motivations and essential skills.  

ANMAC is responsible, under the National law, for maintaining the currency and integrity of accreditation standards for nursing and midwifery programs leading to registration and endorsement in Australia. ANMAC regularly reviews and improves accreditation standards used to assess programs, to ensure their continued effectiveness and relevance in contemporary education and health care environments.  

All accreditation standards published from 2019 will incorporate a new five standard structure as shown in Table 1.  

In collaboration with stakeholders, ANMAC has developed an Essential Evidence companion document to support the standards. The companion document is made accessible to education providers on our website with the new or revised Accreditation Standards. When applying for program accreditation, the Essential Evidence is the minimum evidence an education providers needs to submit to demonstrate their program meets the relevant accreditation standards.

In developing an accreditation standard for a health profession, the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 requires accreditation authorities to undertake wide-ranging consultation on the content of accreditation standards. Review of ANMAC Accreditation Standards is guided by a Professional Reference Group (PRG) selected for expertise in such areas as consumer advocacy; clinical practice, education and research; health service delivery and management; regulation and accreditation; professional and industrial matters and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. The PRG oversees all aspects of the review, including stakeholder consultation and synthesis of stakeholder feedback in the revised accreditation standards. The PRG provides their recommendations to the ANMAC Chief Executive Office.  

Key stakeholders are invited to engage in the consultation process through written submissions or online surveys accessible during two to three periods of public consultation. Additionally, stakeholders can be invited to attend consultation forums. Stakeholder submissions and ANMAC feedback reports are published on the ANMAC website during the consultation period and key documents continue to be available via the archived consultation links on our Standards and review webpages. 

All accreditation standards developed by ANMAC are assessed by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). The OBPR is a division within the Australian Government’s Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet but has independence from the Department in assessing and reporting on compliance with the best practice regulation requirements. The OBPR assesses whether Regulation Impact Statements are required. When undertaking a standards review ANMAC consults with the OBPR and provides feedback to the NMBA on any potential regulatory impact identified in the consultation process or in content revisions in the new version of the Accreditation Standards.  

New Accreditation Standards are in effect from the date they are published on the ANMAC website. This is after the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia approval date.  

Programs that were accredited against a previous version of the Accreditation Standards will continue to be monitored and have changes assessed against that version of the standards.  Previous versions are described as Superseded Accreditation Standards.

In line with ANMAC’s Transition policy for new Accreditation Standards, ANMAC will determined whether there are areas of change that will require education providers to transition to the new accreditation standards. Education providers will be provided with information regarding the transition requirements, evidence required and due dates. All future applications for program accreditation will need to address the new Accreditation Standards.  

From the date the new Accreditation Standards come into effect (date of publication on the ANMAC website), all education providers seeking to accredit a program applicable to the new Accreditation Standards will need to submit an application that addresses these new standards. Please email accreditation@anmac.org.au for information about applying for program accreditation.  

The Registered Nurse Accreditation Standards now incorporate a new five standard format (see relevant FAQ above). An Essential Evidence companion document has been prepared to support these standards (see relevant FAQ above). Wording changes have been integrated across all criteria in the Registered Nurse Accreditation Standards 2019.  The main content change to these standards is the introduction of a minimum English language proficiency requirement for program entry. Education providers are now required to demonstrate:  

1.3 The program’s admission requirements are fair, equitable and transparent. Before making an offer for enrolment, education providers inform applicants of the requirements to: 

b. demonstrate English language proficiency either by providing a written declaration that English is their primary language or evidence that they have achieved the minimum English language test results  

Terminology used in the standards now includes the adoption of Professional Experience Placement (PEP) instead of clinical placement or workplace experience. 

The Midwife Accreditation Standards 2021 now incorporate a new five standard format (see relevant FAQ above). An Essential Evidence companion document has been prepared to support these standards (see relevant FAQ above). Wording changes have been integrated across all criteria in the Midwife Accreditation Standards 2021. The main content change to these standards is the introduction of a minimum English language proficiency requirement for program entry. Education providers are now required to demonstrate:  

1.3 The program’s admission requirements are fair, equitable and transparent. Before making an offer for enrolment, education providers inform applicants of the requirements to:  

b. demonstrate English language proficiency either by providing a written declaration that English is their primary language or evidence that they have achieved the minimum English language test results.  

Students are advised to contact their education provider to discuss whether the new Accreditation Standards will affect their program.

Further information on new Accreditation Standards is available on the ANMAC website. Education providers can also have their questions addressed by emailing accreditation@anmac.org.au or phoning 02 6274 9166. 

Part of ANMAC’s role is to monitor education providers and manage complaints. If you have a concern with the program you are enrolled in, or a concern with your education provider, the first step is to address that concern with the education provider by following their policy on complaints. 

If you believe that your complaint has not been addressed after taking this step, please refer to Complaints on our website for information on how to make a complaint to ANMAC.  

For general information about the status of your nursing or midwifery registration or endorsement contact the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). If you have further questions on registration or endorsement, including return-to-practice requirements, please contact the NMBA. 

You can find out by visiting the Approved programs of study list on the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) website. If the program you want to enrol in is not on this list, it has not been accredited by ANMAC or approved by the NMBA and may not lead to eligibility to apply for registration as a nurse or midwife in Australia. 

Email a completed Intention to Submit (219 KB) form to accreditation@anmac.org.au. On receipt, ANMAC will contact you to provide advice on documentation and timeframes.  

ANMAC accreditation assessment takes approximately 9-12 months. The process can take longer depending on the quality of the submission and the NMBA review is approximately one month. For more information please refer to Program accreditation on our website. 

When preparing for program accreditation, factor into your project plan the expiry date of your current NMBA approved program of study, time needed for new program development and submission preparation, as well as time for your organisation’s program approval process.

Please contact ANMAC as soon as you know you will be offering a new program by emailing an Intention to Submit (219 KB) form to accreditation@anmac.org.au. On receipt, we will respond with information about our processes, including timeframes and required documentation.  

Carefully read the instructions in the application pack and supporting templates we sent you. For further information please refer to Program accreditation on our website or email accreditation@anmac.org.au 

ANMAC undertakes regular review of scheduled fees for program accreditation, program changes and program monitoring. For updates please refer to the fee schedule on our website.

Yes, each program requires its own site visit. In part this is because the assessment team needs to meet with the education provider for a face-to-face discussion and assess each program’s resources and delivery.

ANMAC can undertake annual routine and targeted monitoring of approved programs.

For more information about these processes, please refer to Program monitoring on our website and our Accreditation policy and procedure.

The Program Monitoring Report (PMR) is completed annually and is used to confirm program delivery continues to meet the relevant accreditation standards and to facilitate reporting of program changes that do not require prospective notification. PMRs are due on the anniversary date of your program’s NMBA approval. One month prior to this date, we will email you the PMR template to complete. 

Complete an Intention to Submit (219 KB) form and email to accreditation@anmac.org.au. On receipt of this form, ANMAC will contact you to provide advice on required documentation and process timeframes.  

For more information, please refer to Program changes on our website and our Accreditation policy and procedure.

Yes, education providers need to notify ANMAC of changes to approved programs. Some program changes require you to prospectively notify ANMAC so that an assessment of the change can be undertaken prior to implementation by the education provider.

For more information, please refer to Program changes on our website and our Accreditation policy and procedure.

Yes. However, all advertising material used to inform potential students will need to include the notation: ‘This program of study is not yet accredited by ANMAC or approved by the NMBA and will not lead to registration as a nurse or midwife in Australia under the approved qualification pathway, National Law Section 53a.’ 

Students must not be enrolled into a program until it is accredited by ANMAC and approved by the NMBA. Approved programs appear on the NMBA Approved programs of study list. 

Education providers can choose to plan, develop and acquire the necessary resources to offer a program of study before receiving accreditation from ANMAC, however, this is at their own risk. 

No. Students must not be enrolled into a program until it is accredited by ANMAC and approved by the NMBA, as indicated by inclusion on the NMBA Approved program of study list

It is at their own risk that education providers choose to plan, develop and acquire resources to offer a program of study before receiving ANMAC accreditation and NMBA approval.

No. Enrolment of students can only commence once the program appears on the NMBA Approved Program of Study list. Graduates from programs appearing on this list will be eligible to apply for registration or endorsement as a nurse or midwife in Australia. Potential students must be informed of the program’s ANMAC accreditation status and NMBA approval status in all advertising material and prior to enrolment. 

The ANMAC accreditation assessment generally takes from 9 to 12 months depending on submission quality and education provider responsiveness. The start of the ANMAC accreditation assessment is the assessment phase. It requires the education provider to submit a completed application pack, completed ANMAC templates, supporting documentation and payment of the accreditation assessment fee. It concludes when the NMBA are notified of the ANMAC accreditation decision. Time taken by the NMBA to approve a program of study is separate to and excluded from ANMAC’s accreditation timeframe. 

When preparing for program accreditation, factor into your project plan the expiry date of your current NMBA approved program of study, time needed for new program development and submission preparation, as well as time for your organisation’s program approval process. 

Prior to submission of your completed documentation and accreditation assessment fee, please liaise with our administrative staff via accreditation@anmac.org.au. Your assigned Associate Director (AD) will contact you once the assessment phase of accreditation commences. You are then encouraged to liaise directly with your AD until the review of your program is completed by the assessment team and presented to the relevant accreditation committee.  

When submitting documentation during the accreditation process, please direct your emails to accreditation@anmac.org.au (for filing purposes) and CC your Associate Director. 

Yes. You can decline a nominated assessment team member only if you believe there is a real or perceived conflict of interest. You must email your objections to Accreditation Services, within 3 business days, via accreditation@anmac.org.au. If we do not hear from you within this timeframe the assessment team will remain as nominated. 

Yes. It’s mandatory to use ANMAC’s application pack, forms, checklists and templates. The documents are designed to help you address criteria requirements in the accreditation standards specific to your type of program. ANMAC will provide you with the correct application pack and latest templates on receipt of your completed Intention to Submit form. Please note our forms and templates undergo regular quality improvements and it is important to use the most up-to-date documents so that your application is progressed without delay.  

You can send all electronic submissions to ANMAC using a Cloud-based link to the document, such as DropBox. Please ensure any documents submitted throughout the accreditation process are also sent to accreditation@anmac.org.au.  

You will be emailed reports collating the team’s assessment of submitted evidence, including the:  

• Collated Review Report incorporating outcomes from the team’s initial meeting and any further evidence requests 
• Site Visit Report summarising outcomes from the team’s site visit and any further evidence requests
• Outcome of Accreditation Assessment Report outlining the team’s accreditation recommendations to be presented to the relevant accreditation committee. 

You are encouraged to liaise with your AD if you require information or clarification about assessment team responses or about ANMAC accreditation assessment processes.  

Yes. Posted on our website is a note on English language skills requirements that provides responses to frequently asked questions about English language skills admission requirements for entry to practice registered and enrolled nurse programs.  

In summary:

• Prospective students seeking admission to NMBA approved registered nurse and enrolled nurse programs must sign a declaration stating their primary language is English OR provide valid English language test results as specified in the NMBA English language skills registration standard. 
• Please refer to our glossary for a definition of ‘primary language’.  

For more information, please contact accreditation@anmac.org.au  

If you are interested in becoming an ANMAC assessor please visit Become an assessor on the ANMAC website for an overview of what is involved.

Yes. Assessors are paid a sitting fee for their time and expenses. For more information, please refer to the ANMAC Assessor handbook.

Yes. For more information, please refer to ;Becoming an assessor on our website.  

For more information about CPD, please refer to the FAQs on the NMBA website.

ANMAC will contact you as vacancies for teams requiring your skills and qualifications arise. If you are contacted by ANMAC to be part of an assessment team, it is important you respond as soon as possible, so there are no delays in assessment team assembly. 

Please notify ANMAC on accreditation@anmac.org.au if your contact details have changed. 

No. ANMAC needs you to review submissions independently and not discuss your views or work with other members of the assessment team until the first team meeting is held to exchange views and collate outcomes. For more information, please refer to the ANMAC Assessor handbook. If you have questions when part of an assessment team, please contact your assigned Associate Director.

If you could not find your question on this page, please contact accreditation@anmac.org.au