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	About the Standards & Accreditation Framework
		Introducing the Framework
		A Brief History
		A Quality Improvement Approach
		2002 Review
	National Accreditation Council
	National Community Housing Standards Manual


	It is important that standards and their use within an industry are regularly reviewed and revised to reflect developments in good practice in the sector. In August 2002, RPR Consulting was engaged by the NCHF to carry out a review of the first edition of the standards as well as the national accreditation framework that had been in place since 1999.
	The review aimed to ensure that the standards and the accreditation process:
		can be used by the range of services in the sector
		support sector development
		reflect quality improvement principles
		reflect developments in the sector and in quality systems
		complement other performance management initiatives
		have greater ownership across all states and territories and with all stakeholders.
	Over a four month period, the review sought the views of stakeholders in all states and territories. The process involved distributing briefing papers, holding consultation meetings, and circulating a revised draft of the standards for comment.

		Download a copy of the review final report . Review of the National Community Housing Standards and Accreditation System: Final Report, December 2002 PDF Document (188K) Download Here


	Outcomes of the review
	Overall there was considerable positive support for the standards as a national document providing a clear framework for the sector. In every meeting, services attending confirmed that they had been actively using the standards to assist in their organisational development. Many had used the standards to develop policies and systems. They saw it as a practical document that had assisted to professionalise the sector. There was strong agreement that the standards still reflect good practice although small alterations were identified. A few additions to the content were suggested to reflect growth and development in the sector. The major suggestions for changes however, relate to how the standards are used for accreditation, and a desire to streamline the assessment process. To this end, the new edition has sought to:
		remove duplication

		be more explicit about how standards might be interpreted for varying contexts of community housing organisations (large/small, housing association/co-op)
		simplify language
		adopt a format which encourages people to think about documentation, processes, and measuring outcomes.
	The standards have been designed to be able to sit on their own as a tool that can be used by individual housing providers to improve their practice. It is obvious however, that standing alone, they cannot have the same impact as a system which is designed and funded to support organisations to understand and use them. Overall, organisations that had been through the accreditation process were positive about the outcomes of the process. They saw the overall gains for the organisation in improved practices as outweighing the work involved.

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