Outcome from joint Australia and New Zealand accreditation standards consultation
The Dental Council New Zealand and Dental Board of Australia approved updates to the joint Australian Dental Council (ADC)/Dental Council (New Zealand) Accreditation standards for dental practitioner programs (the new standards).
The new standards will come into effect on 1 January 2021 and are available for download here.
What changes have been made to the accreditation standards?
The most significant change is the introduction of a new domain – cultural competence. The new domain is to ensure students can provide culturally competent engagement and appropriate care for Māori and Pacific peoples, to help improve Māori and Pacific oral health outcomes.
Other changes in the new standards include:
- consumer involvement in program design, management and quality improvement
- clearer expectations regarding inter-professional collaborative practice
- clarification of the assessment standard and associated criteria.
The Dental Council will work closely with the New Zealand dental education providers and assessors on the implications the new standards will have on the programme accreditation process.
Consultation information
The following information is available on our website:
- Report of the consultation on proposed changes to the ADC/DC(NZ) Accreditation standards for dental practitioner programs – May 2020. This report summarises the consultation process and the feedback received.
- Submissions – grouped in New Zealand and Australian responses.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.