The RACGP Standards for general practices, 5th edition are the benchmark for quality and risk management in Australian general practice, assessed under the National General Practice Accreditation Scheme. They are organised into three modules, each with criteria and indicators.
The three modules
Core module
The foundations every accredited practice must meet: patient rights and access, comprehensive care, health-records management, privacy and information security, and practice governance.
Quality Improvement module
Demonstrating a culture of improvement: quality-improvement activities, education and training of your team, and using data to make the practice safer over time.
General Practice module
The day-to-day clinical environment: infection prevention and control, sterilisation and reprocessing, vaccine cold-chain management, and a safe physical environment.
Must-meet indicators
Some indicators are mandatory (must-meet) - the make-or-break items a practice has to satisfy. Flagging these front and centre means they never slip through in the rush before a survey. The tool marks must-meet indicators across all three modules so your team knows where to focus.
Common gaps before survey
- Evidence that exists but is scattered across drives, inboxes and folders.
- Cold chain and infection-control records that are not up to date - see the cold chain and infection control pages.
- Quality-improvement activities that were done but not documented.
- Policies that exist but were not reviewed within the cycle.
Work through the standards with an evidence tracker and a gap analysis, and you walk into your survey knowing exactly where you stand.
Frequently asked questions
What are the RACGP Standards 5th edition modules?
Three: Core (foundations like patient rights, records, privacy and governance), Quality Improvement, and General Practice (the clinical environment, including infection control and cold chain).
What is a must-meet indicator?
A mandatory indicator a practice must satisfy for accreditation. The tool flags must-meet indicators across all modules so the make-or-break items are never missed.