Audience: Patients and carers. Published 10 November 2026 (AEDT). Source date: 3 November 2026.
Australia’s national safety body has opened public consultation on draft safety and quality standards for virtual care — including telehealth appointments that many people already use with a GP or specialist. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission) released the drafts on 3 November 2026. Feedback closes on Sunday 13 December 2026.
What is virtual care in this work?
The Commission defines virtual care as any interaction between a patient and clinician(s) that happens remotely using information technologies. Examples it gives include telephone or video consultations, routine prescription requests through portals or other remote channels, and remote monitoring with medical devices or imaging for conditions such as diabetes or long-term wound care. Care may be real-time (for example a video call) or not real-time (for example some remote monitoring platforms).
Why are standards being developed?
The drafts are intended to set clearer, more consistent expectations for care delivered virtually through hospitals, primary and community healthcare, emergency care and commercial providers. The Commission says the standards will build on the National Model for Clinical Governance and align with the third edition of the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards.
This is a development process, not a new law that changes telehealth access overnight. The Commission expects to publish final standards by the end of 2027. It says all virtual care providers will be encouraged to implement them; whether a formal accreditation scheme is used is still under consideration with government.
How people can have a say
Healthcare professionals, owners and managers of telehealth and virtual care services, consumers, carers, researchers and policymakers are invited to comment via the Commission’s online survey or written submissions. The consultation page and Digital Health/virtual care information are linked below. This article summarises the Commission’s published notices; it does not reproduce the full draft wording.
Prepared with AI assistance from the linked Commission notices. No clinical review by the ATM Health editorial team is claimed. General information only, not individual medical advice.
Primary sources
ACSQHC: Have your say on the draft virtual care standards (3 November 2026).
ACSQHC: Strengthening virtual care quality (last updated 3 November 2026; accessed 10 November 2026, AEDT).