About NATA

What is NATA?

  • Australia's Government-endorsed provider of accreditation for laboratories and similar testing facilities
  • a peak authority in Australia for the accreditation of inspection bodies
  • Australia's GLP compliance monitoring authority for the OECD Principles of GLP and represents Australia on the OECD GLP Working Group
  • the national body for accreditation of producers of certified reference materials
  • a leading international supplier of specialised training, information and support services for laboratories
  • the largest association of accredited laboratories in the world
  • the world's oldest comprehensive laboratory accreditation provider
  • supported by thousands of volunteer technical experts who assist with NATA's various technical committees and the evaluation of laboratories
  • independently evaluated on a regular basis by its international counterparts to ensure that its operations remain in-line with international practices
  • a private, not-for-profit company, owned and governed by its members and representatives from industry, government and professional bodies.

What is NATA's role?

NATA plays a key role in Australia's standards and conformance infrastructure, which provides an important mechanism for improving the business efficiency and competitiveness of Australian industry in international and national markets.

Within this infrastructure, NATA acts as:

  • the national authority for accreditation of laboratories conducting tests, calibrations and measurements in a wide spectrum of technical fields
  • the national body for accreditation of producers of certified reference materials; and
  • a peak authority for the accreditation of inspection bodies

NATA represents Australia in:

  • the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC)
  • the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC); and
  • the OECD Working Group on Good Laboratory Practice

The above roles are recognised by the Australian Government in a Memorandum of Understanding with NATA. Under this MOU, the Commonwealth Government:

  • uses NATA laboratories to meet its own testing needs, wherever possible
  • encourages State Governments and other instrumentalities to adopt a similar approach
  • commits all Commonwealth Government laboratories to obtain and maintain NATA accreditation, where appropriate

For more information, see Government Requirement for NATA.

To support its accreditation programs, NATA:

  • offers a range of other services specifically to catered for the needs of laboratories and inspection facilities
  • operates proficiency testing programs in a range of testing and calibration areas;
  • provides a range of training courses in laboratory management, auditing, quality control and related areas, including courses related to management systems and their certification
  • publishes a range of technical and information documents covering laboratory practice and evaluation; and
  • promotes its members through a website directory of accredited facilities and through advertising, conferences and related promotional activities.
You can download a copy of the NATA Rules here.