In this section:

Dental Council (New Zealand) and Australian Dental Council accreditation standards review

Background

The current Dental Council (New Zealand)/Australian Dental Council (ADC) Accreditation Standards for dental practitioner programmes became effective on 1 January 2021. The Standards are scheduled to be periodically reviewed every 5 years, and a project has been established to identify and consider changes to the Standards for subsequent approval by the DC(NZ) and Dental Board of Australia (DBA). 

You can view the New Zealand Standards here and Australian Standards here, and you can view outcomes of the last review in 2021 here.

Objective of the review

The objective is to identify and consider changes to the Standards to ensure they remain contemporary and fit for purpose. The ADC, DBA and DC(NZ) have affirmed that the Standards must remain applicable in both Australia and New Zealand to facilitate the Trans-Tasman Mutal Recognition Act 1997, which recognises Australia and New Zealand registration standards as equal and allows registered oral health practitioners to work in either country.

Review governance

The review is being overseen by a steering committee of six members:

  • CEO, ADC
  • CEO, DC(NZ)
  • Chair, Accreditation Committee, ADC
  • Chair, Accreditation Committee, DC(NZ)
  • First Nations Committee member, ADC
  • Māori Committee member, DC(NZ)

The project team is comprised of staff from the DC(NZ) and ADC. 

Progress to date

The project team mapped the existing Standards against other relevant national and international standards to identify any gaps and potential improvements.

Proposed focus areas were developed and informed by the external policy environment, the strategic directions of the ADC and DC(NZ), the Councils’ experiences using the Standards, and stakeholder feedback. An independent education advisor was also engaged to validate the proposed focus areas and advise best practice for standard setting more broadly.

Following the recommendation of the project steering committee, a stakeholder survey was developed and sent to a targeted group of the ADC and DC(NZ)’s stakeholders, seeking their views on the existing Standards and potential focus areas for the review. 

The project team presented the survey feedback to the steering committee, and its content will inform potential revisions to the Standards. 

Next steps

The project team will consider the survey feedback and work with subject matter experts (SMEs) as necessary to provide advice on proposed changes to the Standards. Engagement of SMEs will ensure a breadth of expertise and perspectives relevant to the review and the identified focus areas are considered.

A consultation document detailing the draft proposed Standards will be shared for public consultation, which will run for a minimum of eight weeks. Responses to this consultation will be carefully considered and any necessary amendments made to the draft Standards.

We look forward to inviting feedback from the wider community on the proposed amendments to the Standards in due course.