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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