NATA Acreditation

What is NATA Accreditation 

The National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia (NATA) is Australia’s national accreditation body for the accreditation of laboratories, inspection bodies, calibration services, producers of certified reference materials and proficiency testing scheme providers throughout Australia. It is also Australia’s compliance monitoring authority for the OECD Principles of GLP.

NATA has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Australian Government and various state and territory governments that recognise its key role in Australia’s technical infrastructure. The Australian Government recommends the use of NATA-accredited facilities whenever this is an option and encourages state and territory governments and other instrumentalities to do likewise.

NATA provides independent assurance of technical competence and integrity of organisations offering testing, inspection and calibration services (collectively known as conformity assessment) for customers who require confidence in the delivery of their products and services.

Accreditation is increasingly being recognised as a valuable tool across a wide range of Government policy areas including better regulation, good governance and fair markets and is being used by Government as an effective tool for delivering policy more efficiently and to help deliver on its obligations in areas as diverse as healthcare, food production, the construction industry and management of the environment.

NATA accreditation is formal recognition that facilities produce reliable technical results which increases community confidence and trust in a facility’s services, mitigates risk, improves tendering success and facilitates trade.

NATA is a signatory to international accreditation agreements which provide for mutual recognition. This reduces the need for multiple assessments of suppliers, and as a consequence helps to reduce barriers to trade for organisations that have NATA accreditation.