History
The
Australian National Quality Assurance Program was originally instigated by the
Standing Committee on Agriculture and Resource Management (SCARM) Animal Health
Committee in 1990. The program is coordinated by the Department of Primary
Industries, Victoria on behalf of the Sub-Committee of Animal Health Laboratory
Standards (SCAHLS).
The
initial aim of the program was to standardise veterinary testing in government
laboratories in Australia and New Zealand. This aim is still applicable today
but the program has expanded
and established itself both nationally and internationally as an external
proficiency testing provider.
ANQAP focuses on assays
used in quarantine, export certification and national disease control programs.
The
ANQAP proficiency testing program uses inter-laboratory comparison for
determining the performance of individual laboratories for specific tests. The
program prepares a range of proficiency panels for veterinary virology,
veterinary serology, and veterinary bacteriology. ANQAP does not prescribe the
test method to be followed with the participating laboratories able to select
their method of choice. Australian and New Zealand laboratories will follow the
Australian and New Zealand Standard Diagnostic Procedure where available.
Participation in
proficiency testing is an important component of a laboratory’s quality
assurance and provides an objective means of assessing and demonstrating the
reliability of results produced. Proficiency testing supplements the
laboratories own internal quality control procedures by adding an external
evaluation of their testing capabilities.
ANQAP recommends
participating laboratories have quality systems in place and export / import
laboratories in Australia and New Zealand are required by AQIS to be accredited
with NATA to the standard ISO/IEC 17025.
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