When Australians receive a blood test, they expect the result to be accurate, reliable and trusted. According to recent independent research by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), accreditation plays a vital role in delivering that confidence across the healthcare system.
The research, which updates the landmark 2018 study on the value of accreditation, provides compelling evidence of accreditation’s contribution to Australia’s economy and society. The findings highlight how accreditation enhances productivity, efficiency, market access and organisational performance, while strengthening trust, reducing risk and building technical capability.
Drawing on NSW Health Pathology as one of its case studies, the UTS report demonstrates how accreditation supports patient safety, drives quality improvement and innovation, and strengthens public trust.
As New South Wales primary public pathology provider, NSW Health Pathology delivers diagnostic, scientific advisory and clinical governance services across hospitals, clinics and regional health settings. Its work ranges from routine pathology testing to highly specialised services in genomics, toxicology and intensive care diagnostics.
The UTS research found that accreditation provides benefits extending well beyond regulatory compliance. While accreditation is a requirement under relevant legislative and funding frameworks, it also delivers an independent mechanism for assuring quality, consistency and reliability across a complex healthcare network.
As NSW Health Pathology Chief Pathologist Matthew Watts noted, accreditation is both a valuable benchmarking exercise and an effective audit process that gives confidence to healthcare providers, patients and the wider community.
Importantly, the UTS report highlights how accreditation helps transform trust from an aspiration into an operational system. Assessment findings, recommendations and non-conformances are used as organisational intelligence, informing improvements that are shared across laboratories and escalated through quality, patient safety and executive governance structures.
The research also identified accreditation as a key enabler of innovation. NSW Health Pathology works closely with universities and researchers to translate emerging scientific discoveries into validated diagnostic services. Accreditation provides the framework that allows new methods and technologies to move from research environments into trusted clinical practice.
As healthcare continues to evolve, the UTS report demonstrates that accreditation remains a critical component of Australia’s health infrastructure. Through organisations such as NSW Health Pathology, accreditation helps ensure test results are reliable, new diagnostic capabilities are safely introduced, and public confidence in healthcare is maintained.
The UTS report concludes that accreditation delivers significant economic and social value by strengthening trust, supporting innovation, improving quality outcomes and providing confidence in the services Australians rely on every day.
You can read the UTS summary report on the value of accreditation here.