We are a non-profit organisation, focused on supporting continuous quality improvement in health, community and support service organisations.
As a JASANZ accredited conformity assessment body, the quality of our systems, tools and processes is independently reviewed at regular intervals – you can trust that we know what we’re doing.
We are proud to certify and accredit health and human services organisations to rigorous national and international standards.
OUR VALUES
As a human-centred organisation, our values sit at the very heart of everything we do, feel and say.
Everyone we work with – from our Board to employees, contractors and volunteers – must sign up to our IHCA Group Cultural Charter, which sets out and informs our behaviour, ethics and values. And we’re expected to live by these daily.
IHCA GROUP VALUES
Passion for people
Supporting our customers to do what they do best
Excellence
Striving for excellence in all that we do
Integrity
Acting ethically, honestly and fairly
Impact
Empowering, enabling and inspiring
OUR APPROACH
We work with you to understand what makes your organisation different – our focus is on you and your clients and the quality of your services.
We scale up or down to work with organisations of all sizes and we work in culturally secure ways, with respect for the backgrounds and cultures of our customers.
From your first contact, we treat you with respect and listen to you to understand your uniqueness. We work with you in planning your audit or assessment, we conduct a professional assessment of your service against the relevant standards and we provide you with a report that highlights what you are doing well and what areas you need to work on.
Our objective is to support every client on their continuous quality improvement journey – to provide the best possible services to their service users.
Regardless of the standards you are being assessed under, there are a few things you can do to make the assessment process run smoothly:
- Your audit plan will indicate the groups and people the assessor/s will need to meet with and the approximate times for these meetings. Take note of these so that everyone is aware and not “surprised” on the day. Wherever possible, please arrange for people to be available.
- Your on-site audit will commence with an opening meeting where your lead assessor will explain the process to be followed and key information about the assessment process.
- Interviewing service users, consumers or participants is a very important aspect of a human services audit. Well ahead of the on-site audit we will ask for de-identified information and our assessor (and technical expert if involved) will make selections from this information about who they will want to interview and which files they will be reviewing.
- Remember to let your service users or participants know that your audit is occurring, and invite them to attend the opening or closing meetings if they wish.
- As well as interviewing service users or consumers, the assessors will want to interview staff and observe your service operations.
- At the closing meeting, the assessor will explain their findings to you and any corrective actions that need to occur and the timeframes for these. If you need clarification on anything, you can speak to your assessor or phone the Service Manager.
- Above all, remember that while assurance about the standards of quality and safety in the services you deliver is important, encouraging continuous quality improvement and organisational learning is also essential for high performance.
Our History and Experience
The Community Health Association Queensland Inc (CHAQ) was incorporated on 6 July 1990. On 31 March 1998, the name of the organisation was changed to the Institute for Healthy Communities Australia Inc (IHCA). On 20 September 2001, IHCA transferred its incorporation to become a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee. A subsidiary of IHCA, IHCA Certification Pty Ltd was established in November 2002 as a non-profit company with the initial objective of providing a cost-effective solution for disability employment services to achieve certification against the Commonwealth government’s Disability Service Standards. On 2 February 2004, IHCA Certification was awarded JASANZ accreditation to certify Quality Management Systems and Disability Employment Services. Approval to accredit hospitals followed shortly after.
Since those early days, IHCA Certification has maintained its JASANZ accreditation and continues to work with health and community service organisations of all size throughout Australia, including government and non-government organisations located in rural, remote and metropolitan settings. Our services are underpinned by a foundation of strong ethics, best practice, professionalism and impartiality which we are proud to offer to each and every client.
IHCA Certification is proud to be the only organisation approved to certify organisations against the Standard for Therapeutic Communities and Residential Rehabilitation Services and the Alcohol and other Drug and Human Services Standard.
While we have continued to extend the scope of the certification and accreditation services we offer, the common theme reflects our core purpose – supporting Australian health, community and support service organisations to continuously improve their quality systems and strengthen business performance.
Our Governance
We have a board of independent directors to oversee the management of governance matters, help with enhancing understanding of our operations, and facilitate work with other organisations.
Our directors are:
Kate O’Donohue, Board Chair
Terry Grundy, Non-Executive Director
Aaron Stewart, Non-Executive Director
Geoff Walshaw, Non-Executive Director
Wendy Zernike, Non-Executive Director
Matthew Rowe, Company Secretary (contact: co-sec@ihca.com.au)
The primary responsibilities of the Board include:
- Approving the Directors’ annual report, including the annual financial statements report
- Establishing long-term goals for the company and the strategic plans to achieve these
- Reviewing and adopting annual budgets for the financial performance of the company and monitoring the results at bi-monthly meetings
- Ensuring the company has implemented adequate systems of internal controls together with appropriate monitoring of compliance activities
- Delegating powers to the Chief Executive Officer and other staff in relation to the business and operations of the company
- Establishing succession plans to manage the company.
Our People
Our work is all about delivering excellence, so our people make our business – and our rigorous selection process and ethos of continuous improvement reflects this.
We have a small, but perfectly formed, internal team supported by a trusted network of exceptional contractors and sector specialists, many of whom work exclusively for us. People choose to work with us because they share our values and aspire to enable improved outcomes for service users.
We choose our contractors and consultants based on strong interpersonal and communication skills, combined with laser-sharp analytical focus, and solid credentials and qualifications in their area of expertise. And, of course, a genuine desire to provide a lasting impact and deliver excellence at all times. We carefully match each specialist with each client to provide the right support.
Our network of contractors and consultants operate across Australia, with regional and remote locations being a specialty. We come from a rich and diverse range of backgrounds, with every one of us committed to providing trusted service and measurable benefits for those we work with.
Work with us
We are leaders in quality in health, community and support service and we value being able to provide a positive customer experience, displaying professionalism and integrity as well as delivering value for money for our clients in the not-for-profit sector. Our services include consultancy and training, together with third-party certification, accreditation and verification under a variety of national and internationally accredited schemes along with independent audit services under a number of other programs.
Interested in working with IHCA Certification?
Working with IHCA means working with a committed, values-based team. We are a small purpose-driven organisation and are always on the lookout for exceptional people who have a passion for improving quality in health and community services organisations.
If you would like to inquire about existing vacancies or lodge an expression of interest, please email jobs@ihca.com.au or phone 07 3844 2222 or 1800 035 033.