Assessment and rating materials

National Quality Standard Assessment and Rating Instrument

The National Quality Standard Assessment and Rating Instrument is available to download. Used by authorised officers during visits to services, the instrument helps them to assess and rate the service against the National Quality Standard.

The instrument is also a useful resource for services as they prepare for their assessment visit. It outlines the process and what authorised officers will be looking for during the visit. Services will receive a completed version as the final report.

Authorised officers use this document to:

• prepare for the assessment and rating visit
• record observations and evidence during the visit to support the assessment, and
• determine ratings and prepare the report for the service after the visit.

The National Quality Standard Assessment and Rating Instrument includes:

• a service details and desktop audit section
• a list of the rating level descriptors for each quality area accompanied by space for recording observations and evidence, and notes relevant to any compliance matters and/or the service’s Quality Improvement Plan
• a table that summarises the elements that were ‘met’ and ‘not met’, and the ratings for the standards within each quality area, and
• a table that presents the quality area ratings and the overall rating.

If you have a question about the assessment and rating process, please contact your regulatory authority.

National Quality Standard Assessment and Rating Report template

A nationally consistent assessment and rating report template is available to regulatory authorities.

The template offers a nationally consistent report style, with the focus being on providing evidence and analysis at the standard level.

The template includes a summary of the ratings for all seven quality areas, as well as the option for additional comments about the overall quality of the service. To help providers improve service quality, the template also includes a summary of any notes about the Quality Improvement Plan and compliance issues.