Phase 2 of the National Accreditation System (NAS) and your CLC Monica Roberts Regional Accreditation Coordinator Meg Houston National Accreditation Coordinator

What is the NAS? An industry based certification process for CLCs that supports and recognises good practice in the delivery of community legal services. Provides a quality assurance process that gives CLCs, funding bodies and clients confidence that CLCs are operating according to good practice and industry standards. Promotes a culture of continuous quality improvement. The key delivery tool for one of NACLC’s 6 identified domains in its Sector Sustainability Framework

What the NAS can do for you! The NAS enables CLCs to Improve organisational management systems, process and guidelines for staff, volunteers and governing bodies Strengthen service delivery to enhance outcomes for clients and the community Promote organisational risk management Recognise and acknowledge their strengths and achievements

What the NAS can do for you! The NAS enables CLCs to: Meet and improve performance against national sector designed standards and requirements Reflect on practices to identify opportunities for improvement; Explore new approaches and collaborate with other CLCs to share experience and examples of good practice; and Build sector credibility and support funding efforts.

Protects the CLC “brand” and CLC clients against “look-alike” services that don’t have the same agreed characteristics and values Compliance with sector wide accreditation or quality assurance requirements have become an expected requirement of government funding bodies The NAS is one of the only sector designed, driven and assessed accreditation systems Identification and evaluation of common findings enable CLC Qld and NACLC to better identify and address sector wide areas needing improvement and training and development needs. Why Accreditation/Quality Assurance?

NAS History, review and consultation Phase NAS Review report - November 2014 NAS Steering Committee established June 2015 Sector input and stakeholder consultations

A new Phase - Building and Improving Phase 2 is about builds on all the work undertaken in Phase 1, by further reviewing and enhancing organisational management and delivery of services to clients. Moving from compliance towards continuous improvement Reviewing systems, polices and procedures, addressing any gaps and making improvements and building this in to the way that your centre works so that it becomes a continual cycle.

Phase 2 Updates and Improvements Change from a tiered system to Accredited / Non-accredited New and updated Standards and Requirements – Accessibility Standard expanded to include people with disability, CALD clients & other priority groups. – New Standard on Cultural Safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and clients Primary and Secondary requirements NAS and RMG cross-check – reduced duplication of processes and assessment questions – successful cross check completion is a prerequisite for Accreditation

Re-mapping of self-assessment quizzes Clarity in governance of the NAS – NAS Steering Committee – NAS Agreements New NAS Guidelines detail timeframes and processes Phase 2 Updates and Improvements

NAS and other Standards/Accreditation Programs Qld CLCs who complete NAS and receive Dept. Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services and/or Housing funding are exempted from also having to comply with the Human Services Quality Framework (HSQF) standards and assessment process. The Standards Performance Pathways system (SPP) also maps other common quality Standards and quality or accreditation requirements of other Government funding agencies applicable to community sector As a CLC addresses the NAS Standards on SPP, the assessment tool automatically also addresses these other Standards, reducing the time and effort required for monitoring and reporting on standards compliance for CLCs funded under multiple programs.

NAS Phase 2 process Online self-assessment Cross check On-Site visit Draft Report and Improvement Plan Accreditation recommendation & re-certification 6 monthly Improvement Plan updates

Your self-assessment and SPP Assessment quizzes that are unchanged for Phase 2 are pre- populated with previous answers, and evidence docs are saved.  CLCs need only review and upload new evidence as necessary New Documents Library feature can be used to review archived Evidence docs and update/delete/replace BNG and NACLC training materials and guides to using SPP in Phase 2 are available.

Resources for continuous improvement Resources to help you build and improve your policies, procedures and processes: – SPP Policy and Procedure templates, tools and info sheets – SPP Reading Room resources – Other on-line resources –Communitydoor.org.au – – CLCQ webinars, conferences, other training resources – Your Regional Accreditation Coordinator – Other CLCs – NACLC networks and conferences

NAS Q & A Q&A for CLCs who have already completed several steps of Phase 1 General questions and feedback