Australia
National Association of Testing Authorities
NATA
NATA is Australia's only ILAC MRA-signatory accreditation body listed in this backbone.
NATA is not a government agency — it is a company limited by guarantee, recognised by the Commonwealth through a Memorandum of Understanding rather than an Act. That recognition is not uniform across every field: NATA is 'the national authority' for laboratories, reference material producers, proficiency testing providers and biobanks, but only 'a peak authority' for inspection bodies, and therapeutic goods sit outside the MoU entirely.
How this body's authority is structured
Recognition by MoU, not by statute — and not uniform across every field
NATA is 'a company limited by guarantee' (ABN 59 004 379 748); its recognition rests on a Memorandum of Understanding with the Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Industry, Science and Resources), not a dedicated Act. The current MoU's own recognition clause reads: 'Except with respect to therapeutic goods (as defined by the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth)), the Commonwealth: recognises NATA as the national authority for laboratory accreditation; ... for the accreditation of producers of reference materials; ... for the accreditation of proficiency testing scheme providers; ... for the accreditation of biobanks; recognises NATA as a peak authority for the accreditation of inspection bodies; and recognises NATA as Australia's compliance monitoring authority for facilities undertaking non-clinical health and environmental safety studies in accordance with the OECD Principles of Good Laboratory Practice.' Note the shift in language for inspection bodies — 'a peak authority', not 'the national authority' — and that therapeutic goods (medicines, medical devices) are excluded from the MoU altogether.
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Not the same body as JAS-ANZ — and its New Zealand counterpart is IANZ, not JAS-ANZ
NATA accredits organisations that themselves carry out testing, calibration and inspection. The Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) is a separate, two-country body that accredits certification bodies instead — 'the bodies that certify or inspect organisations' management systems, products, services, or people' — established by a 1991 treaty between the two governments. The MoU itself is explicit about NATA's actual New Zealand counterpart: 'This MoU recognises the close relationship that exists between NATA and its New Zealand counterpart organisation, International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ).' JAS-ANZ and IANZ are not the same organisation, and NATA is not JAS-ANZ's Australian half.
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The world's first national laboratory accreditation body — 1947
NATA's own published history states: 'The world's first national laboratory accreditation organisation, the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA), came into being when NATA Council held its first meeting at CSIRO Head Office, East Melbourne, Victoria on 5 to 6 February 1947.' At the time, the founders used the term 'laboratory registration' rather than 'accreditation' — a clear international preference for 'accreditation' only emerged in the 1970s; the underlying institution is the same, the vocabulary changed.
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International recognition, re-evaluated every four years
NATA states: 'To maintain its signatory status in the MRA, NATA's competence as an accreditation provider is evaluated every four years' — the most recent re-evaluation ran 6-10 March 2023, covering testing (including medical), calibration, inspection, proficiency testing providers and reference material producers, and was extended to include biobanking: 'We are only the second Accreditation Body in the world to be recognised for biobanking.' Following the transition from IAF/ILAC to Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated, NATA states: 'NATA is a Global ACI Full Member and MRA signatory.'
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How to verify a certificate instead
Memberships and mutual recognition
- ILAC MRA signatory
What this body's recognition means
This body is one of Global ACI's ILAC MRA-signatory bodies, a status that carried forward when IAF and ILAC merged on 1 January 2026; IAF MLA and ILAC MRA marks stay valid through the transition period running to December 2028. What that recognition means →
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This page is for information only; it is not legal advice. It records what an accreditation body publishes about itself and does not accredit, certify or endorse any organisation.