Question and answer guide #4 - PCS Grant

Is accreditation under the NSQHS 2^nd Edition an eligible accreditation? It's not on the list but it's what NSW Health are accredited under and [organisation] hold current accreditation (inclusive of our MHAoD services) under NSQHS 2^nd Ed.

No. NSQHS 2^nd Edition is not a NSW Health-approved accreditation standard.

NSW Health approved organisation accreditation standards are: 

• Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program (EQuIP) 
  Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) 
• QIC Health and Community Service Standards 
  Quality Innovation Performance (QIP) 
• Australian Service Excellence Standards 
  Government of South Australia, Department for Communities and Social Inclusion 
• National Standards for Mental Health Services* 
  Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care 

More accreditation information can be found at NSW Health approved accreditation standards for alcohol and other drug services.

Note also that for these grant opportunities, organisations are eligible if they are current members of an accrediting body and they can show they are working towards a NSW Health-approved accreditation standard. See 4.3 below for further information

Am I right in that Stream 2 is a counselling/case management service for all ages, focusing on post-custodial clients (3 months before release and up to 12 months prior)? We are getting a bit confused between the Stream 1 rehab, detox and age limits.

A) Yes, both streams of the post-custodial support grants are for people aged 18+ exiting custody. Correct, we are looking for throughcare (from 3 months before release up to 12 months post).

B) The Treatment and Support grants (that include rehab, detox and age limits) are separate from the Post-Custodial Support grants. Please check the specific criteria for each grant you are applying for.

We've enquired with QIP to become ASES accredited and are currently scoping accreditation for our Health & Wellbeing unit and broader community mentoring programs. Can you please advise me under the grant eligibility guidelines, what kind of documentation will be considered to demonstrate that we are working toward NSW Health standard accreditation? Additionally, do you have any preferred application templates or formats we can utilise?

• Organisations are eligible if they are working toward accreditation with one of the approved standards.  This would require the organisation to demonstrate that they have:
• current membership of an accrediting agency (such as QIP or ACHS) and
• evidence of active and recent progress towards accreditation against one of the NSW Health-approved accreditation standards listed above at 4.1.

Evidence of 'active and recent progress' could include signing up for the approved standards.

• All of the templates for applying for the grants are available on our website – see Schedules A, B and C1 for Stream 1; see Schedules A, B, C2, D, E and F for Stream 2. Ice Inquiry health response