Submission on the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards – Third Edition

Submission on the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards – Third Edition

This submission by the Australian Multicultural Health Collaborative provides a detailed response to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare’s consultation on the NSQHS Standards (Third Edition). It calls for explicit inclusion of multicultural equity and cultural safety within every Standard to address systemic barriers that compromise care for culturally and linguistically diverse communities. The document outlines key recommendations including mandatory use of accredited interpreters, collection of language data across health systems, measurable indicators of cultural safety, and stronger consumer representation. It also advocates for simplified Standards, consistent communication frameworks, and deeper engagement with multicultural communities to ensure that revisions to the NSQHS Standards result in practical, measurable, and equitable outcomes for all Australians.