11th October, Sydney, Australia – The National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) today held its 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and provided updates on its Board of Directors.
Prior to the meeting, a member vote confirmed the re-appointment of Dr Mark Burgess Director, Infrastructure Technologies for CSIRO as a Board member. Also joining for their second 3-year term is Eric Swayn, who is CEO South Australia and Northern Territory and National Procurement Manager at Australian Clinical Labs.
The remainder of the Board is unchanged, while the full Board membership can be viewed here.
David Turner, NATA Chair, said: “It’s been another proud year for me as Chair, watching as NATA continues to adeptly navigate the changing pressures that the Covid-19 environment created. For over seven decades, NATA has pioneered the accreditation space, and with industry-leading accreditation events like Accreditation Matters 2023, NATA continues to deliver and demonstrate the value for the wider Australian community and economy”.
In March 2023, NATA underwent its four-yearly evaluation/assessment against ISO/IEC 17011 by the Asia-Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC), for continuation of its signatory status in the APAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA). One outcome was that NATA has become only the second accreditation body to be internationally recognised for accreditation of Biobanking facilities to the international standard ISO 20387.
NATA is a not-for-profit member organisation, and its AGM was held virtually via Microsoft Teams from the organisation’s Sydney offices. The meeting included the acceptance of NATA’s audited Annual Report for the financial year ended June 30, 2023, which is now available on nata.com.au.
NATA CEO Jennifer Evans said: “Thanks again must go to our members, volunteers, stakeholders and staff, all of whom have played a vital role in ensuring a productive 12 months despite the challenges we continue to face.
“The feedback we received as part of our APAC evaluation against ISO/IEC 17011, reconfirmed that NATA continues to pioneer the space of accreditation. This together with the expansion to become the second accreditation body internationally recognised for Biobanking, demonstrates how Australia is leading on the global stage.
“And NATA continues to deliver for all Australians as we’ve been finalising the next five-year MOU with the Commonwealth Government.”
Ms Evans also acknowledged the 40th anniversary of NATA’s pathology program with its pre-eminent partner, the Royal College of Pathologists Australasia (RCPA), commenting: “It was the first partnership with an industry’s professional body, and we’ve seen this model successfully used across our accreditation portfolio. Another example is our partnership with the Australasian Sleep Association for our Sleep Disorder Services accreditation program that celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2023.”
She added: “It’s fantastic to have witnessed the growth in our business initiatives like ‘Accreditation Matters’, which continues to get bigger and better, with almost 1,000 of our community turning out in June across five capital cities, in support of the event series. Into next year, the 2-day Accreditation Matters conference promises to be the leading accreditation event in 2024.”
About NATA
National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) provides accreditation for laboratories to ensure testing results can be relied on and trusted. As Australia’s sole internationally recognised accreditation authority, NATA’s role is to uphold the national standards of technical competence for those delivering products or services to the general public. Through its extensive network, NATA provides assessment, accreditation and training services to laboratories and technical facilities.