RACGP Accreditation: A Practical Guide for GP Practices

Published June 30, 2026 • 8 min read

Accreditation has a way of turning a well-run practice into a stressed one, usually because the evidence is scattered across drawers, inboxes, and someone's memory. It does not have to be that way. This is a plain-English guide to what RACGP accreditation actually asks for and how to prepare calmly. It is general information, not legal, medical, or accreditation advice; always work from the current published Standards and your accrediting agency's guidance.

What accreditation is

Accreditation is independent confirmation that your practice meets the RACGP Standards for general practices. It matters for patient trust, for eligibility for certain government payments, and as a structured way to keep your systems safe and current. Surveys are carried out by an approved accrediting agency under the National General Practice Accreditation Scheme, which is administered by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.

The three modules

The Standards (5th edition) are organised into three modules, each with criteria and indicators:

• Core module - the foundations every practice must meet: patient rights and access, communication and patient participation, health-records management, privacy and information security, and practice governance.
• Quality Improvement module - demonstrating a culture of improvement through quality-improvement activities, education and training, and using data to make the practice safer over time.
• General Practice module - the day-to-day clinical requirements: comprehensive and coordinated care, infection prevention and control, sterilisation and reprocessing, vaccine cold-chain management, and a safe physical environment.

Must-meet indicators

Within the Standards, some indicators are mandatory "must-meet" items: the ones considered essential to safe care. Treat these as your priority list. A practice can be strong across most of the Standards and still stumble on a single must-meet indicator, so identify yours early and make sure the evidence is solid.

Evidence is the whole game

Accreditation is not about doing good work in the abstract; it is about being able to show it. For each indicator, you need evidence: a policy, a record, a log, a training register, a maintenance schedule. The practices that find accreditation painless are the ones that keep this evidence in one organised place all year, rather than assembling it in a panic the month before a survey.

The three-year cycle

Accreditation runs on a three-year cycle. The most successful approach is to treat it as continuous rather than an every-third-year event: keep evidence current, run your quality-improvement activities as you go, and the survey becomes a checkpoint rather than a crisis.

Choosing an accrediting agency

You choose which approved agency conducts your survey. The agencies approved under the Scheme include AGPAL, QPA, ACHS and Global-Mark. They differ in process, tools, and support, so it is worth comparing how each works before you commit for a cycle.

How to prepare

1. Work through all three modules at indicator level and note where you stand.
2. Identify your must-meet indicators and shore up the evidence first.
3. Keep evidence in one organised place, updated through the year.
4. Run and document your quality-improvement activities as you go.
5. Do a self-assessment well before the survey so there are no surprises.

That is the whole method: know the Standards, keep the evidence tidy, and treat improvement as continuous. Our Practice Accreditation tool is built to do exactly this - it walks you through the RACGP Standards indicator by indicator and keeps your evidence in one place. It is a preparation aid, not accreditation itself, and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by the RACGP or any accrediting agency.