Governance & Compliance
2026 National Model for Clinical Governance: What Australian Health Services Need to Know
An overview of the new National Model, its six foundations and what Australian health services should consider as they review clinical governance.
In June 2026, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care released a new National Model for Clinical Governance, replacing the framework introduced in 2017.
The Model sets a refreshed national direction for how Australian health services approach clinical governance, with greater emphasis on leadership, organisational culture, risk, meaningful use of data and continuous improvement.
Australian Health Ministers have encouraged public and private hospitals to implement the new Model as part of broader efforts to strengthen healthcare safety and accountability.
A shift from compliance to everyday governance
One of the clearest changes is a move away from thinking about clinical governance primarily through the lens of accreditation.
The new Model focuses instead on whether the systems, culture and leadership needed for high-quality care are working every day.
This means clinical governance is not simply a set of policies or evidence prepared for an accreditation assessment. It is intended to be embedded throughout the organisation, with boards, executives, clinical leaders and the broader workforce all contributing to safe and consistently high-quality care.
Six foundations of clinical governance
The Model is organised around six connected foundations:
1. Leading systems and organisational culture
Boards and executives have a central role in establishing the systems, priorities and culture needed to support high-quality care.
Leadership and accountability are expected to extend throughout the organisation rather than sitting within a standalone quality function.
2. Partnering with patients, carers and consumers
Patients, carers and consumers should be meaningfully involved in the design, delivery and improvement of healthcare.
Their experiences and outcomes provide important information about whether services are actually achieving what they intend to achieve.
3. Building a healthy workforce culture
High-quality care depends on a workforce that is supported, capable and able to raise concerns.
The Model recognises the close relationship between workforce culture, psychological and physical safety, organisational performance and patient outcomes.
4. Enabling high-quality and integrated clinical practice
Clinical systems should support evidence-based, coordinated and consistently high-quality care.
This includes having appropriate systems, responsibilities and controls around how care is delivered and monitored.
5. Managing and reducing risk
Health services need a systematic approach to identifying, understanding and managing risk.
Importantly, the Model takes a broad organisational view of risk, recognising that clinical, operational, digital, financial and strategic risks can interact and affect the quality of care.
6. Using data for better care
Health services generate enormous amounts of information. The Model places greater emphasis on using that information meaningfully.
Boards and leaders need information that makes trends, risks and opportunities visible, rather than simply receiving more reports or more data.
The aim is to use information to understand performance, identify emerging issues and guide improvement.
Greater responsibility for boards and executives
A recurring theme throughout the Model is that clinical governance begins at the highest level of the organisation.
Boards and executives are expected to understand whether governance systems are effective, identify weaknesses and ensure resources and responsibilities are aligned with the delivery of high-quality care.
The Commission describes leadership as a critical enabler across all six foundations.
This represents an important distinction between having governance processes and being able to demonstrate that those processes are achieving their intended outcome.
A principles-based approach
The Model does not prescribe one operating structure for every health service.
Instead, it is deliberately principles-based, allowing organisations to apply the six foundations according to their size, services, risks and operating environment.
The Commission has also released a practical implementation guide, including tools for gap assessments, implementation planning and measuring organisational maturity.
Health services are encouraged to consider the new Model when they next review their clinical governance arrangements.
How does it relate to the NSQHS Standards?
The new Model has an important connection to the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards.
Health services should continue to meet the current Clinical Governance Standard in the second edition of the NSQHS Standards while beginning to implement the 2026 Model.
Looking ahead, the Commission has confirmed that the Model's six foundations will form the structure of the Clinical Governance Standard in the third edition of the NSQHS Standards.
This means the Model provides an early indication of the direction clinical governance is taking within Australia's national safety and quality framework.
What should health services be thinking about now?
For many organisations, implementation will begin by looking at existing governance arrangements and asking whether they genuinely provide visibility and assurance.
That includes questions such as:
- Are responsibilities and accountabilities clear?
- Are governance systems working consistently in practice?
- Can emerging risks and patterns be identified?
- Is the right information reaching the right decision-makers?
- Can the organisation demonstrate that its controls are effective?
- Are lessons and data being used to improve the way the organisation operates?
The Commission's implementation guidance recommends comparing existing clinical governance systems with the new Model, identifying gaps and opportunities, and developing an implementation approach suited to the organisation.
The broader direction
The 2026 National Model reflects a broader shift in Australian healthcare governance.
The focus is increasingly on how systems operate in practice, not simply whether a policy or process exists.
For healthcare organisations, this means stronger connections between leadership, risk, operational systems, data and assurance.
As the third edition of the NSQHS Standards develops, the six foundations introduced in the National Model are likely to become increasingly familiar across Australian healthcare.
Official source
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
2026 National Model for Clinical Governance