Resources, Tools & Guidelines
On this page, we bring together a definitive collection of resources that provide guidance on standards, regulations, health initiatives and best practice.
It can be difficult to trace down the service standards, manuals and guidelines that govern, relate to or affect your field of remote and isolated health.
On this page, our professional services team have collated the official clinical standards, manuals and guidelines that are relevant to remote health nurses, midwives and practitioners.
Feel free to use this page as a reference guide to ensure best practice is followed within your workplace.
Everything Together in One Place
Below, we’ve grouped together governing standards and guidelines, along with manuals and personal development opportunities, information on COVID-19 and a list of health initiatives within Australia. You or your organisation may wish to draw upon this collection to improve your delivery of remote and isolated healthcare. Simply click on a category below to discover the relevant resources.
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet
Website
The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet has provided support to those working in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector by making research and other knowledge readily accessible, contributing to closing the gap in health between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians.
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
Website
The purpose of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is to protect and improve the safety, health, wellbeing and quality of life of people receiving Australian funded aged care. Information about the Aged Care Quality Standards along with other resources for the delivery of aged care services are held with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS) Clinical Guidelines
Website
These clinical guidelines for acute coronary syndromes seek to provide help regarding the clinical care of patients presenting with suspected or confirmed ACS. They were published in 2016 by the National Heart Foundation of Australia and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand.
Practical guidance for ACS care in Australia was derived from the extensive evidence base regarding the clinical effectiveness of different interventions and treatment strategies. In addition to reviews of published trials and systematic reviews, guideline content was informed by other international clinical guidelines and local clinical expertise.
The National Rural and Remote Nursing Generalist Framework 2023–2027
Website
The National Rural and Remote Nursing Generalist Framework 2023 –2027 (the Framework) describes the unique context of practice and core capabilities for rural and remote Registered Nurses in Australia. It was developed and led by an expert steering committee of nursing peak body representative including CRANAplus. The Framework through domains and capabilities contextualises the comprehensive skill set necessary for nurses to work to their full scope of practice as rural and remote nursing generalists. Culturally Safe care in partnership with families, communities and multidisciplinary colleagues is intrinsic to the Framework.
Medicines Book for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners
Website
The Medicines Book is an illustrated, plain English medicines reference book. It is designed to be used by clinicians, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners who supply and monitor medicines and want to share information on medicines with people who have low levels of English literacy.
Clinical Procedures Manual for remote and rural practice
Website
The Clinical Procedures Manual is designed to support remote health practitioners who need to undertake a wide range of clinical procedures as part of providing a primary health care service. This challenging work often occurs in isolation and with populations experiencing high health needs and treatment delays. The Clinical Procedures Manual describes ‘how to do’ procedures covered in the other manuals in the suite.
CARPA Standard Treatment Manual
Website
This in-depth manual was initially developed in response to a critical need to support clinicians in remote and rural communities in Central Australia. Over time its use has extended to be used across other areas in remote Australia. The Manual supports clinicians who may not have remote-specific training but are expected to provide a wide range of clinical services in an unfamiliar and often challenging environment. The protocols cover ‘what to do’ in remote settings for conditions that are common, high risk, unfamiliar, or dangerous, have important public health implications and need coordinated, standardised care.
Women’s Business Manual
Publication
The Women’s Business Manual was initially developed in response to the wishes of Aboriginal women to keep women’s health private and separate from other health issues. It provides essential information and ‘what to do’ treatment guidelines for women’s health issues in remote Australia. This culturally respectful resource is particularly relevant for female doctors, midwives, nurses, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners.
Remote Primary Health Care Manuals Orientation Video
Video
Watch this short video for an introduction to the Remote Primary Health Care Manuals, including The Standard Treatment Manual, The Women’s Business Manual, The Clinical Procedures Manual and The Medicines Book. The eleven-minute video showcases each of the manuals and demonstrates how they are to be used, and where each manual will be most useful in remote practice.
Clinical Governance for Remote and Isolated Health
Website
This guide provides a brief history and overview of the clinical governance environment in Australia, and links to resources of value to remote and isolated health services, clinicians and anyone interested in safe and quality health care in remote and isolated communities. It is designed to develop clinical governance capacity.
Safety & Security for Rural & Remote Health Professionals – Factsheet for Employers
Publication
This factsheet explores actions and processes managers with responsibility for Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) can take to establish and maintain safety and security in remote and isolated health workplaces. These include commitment to ‘always accompanied’, Preparation for remote health practice, prioritisation of wellbeing, management and identification of risks and incidents, building a sustainable and stable workforce, and communication and connectivity.
Safety & Security for Rural & Remote Health Professionals – Factsheet for Individuals
Publication
This document provides guidance about measures that can be taken by remote health professionals to contribute to a safe and secure working and community environment. These include commitment to ‘always accompanied’, preparation for culturally safe remote health practice, prioritisation of wellbeing, management of risks and incidents, and building a sustainable and stable workforce.
Everyone has a right to safety – Workplace Poster
Publication
Please feel free to download and use this poster as part of your strategy to ensure community members are aware of expected behaviours.
Healthcare staff deserve respect – Workplace Poster
Publication
Please feel free to download and use this poster as part of your strategy to ensure community members are aware of expected behaviours.
Tropical Health Orientation Manual
Publication
The Tropical Health Orientation Manual for health practitioners in Northern Australia (2020) (THOM) was published in partnership by Centre for Remote Health, PHN Northern Territory and HotNorth. The manual provides an introductory overview of clinically important conditions prevalent in tropical Australia. It was developed by health professionals with expertise and passion for their topics who collaborated to share their knowledge.
Health practitioners unfamiliar with tropical diseases and new to rural and remote communities need to be prepared for practice in Northern Australia. This preparation includes building knowledge of important tropical health conditions which impact on the high burden of disease in northern Australia. THOM is intended to provide background information about these conditions and is not a source of detailed guidelines for individual patient management.
Going Remote: The Essentials
Website
This quick guide covers the things you need to plan for before a short placement in a remote area health care setting. Practising and living in remote settings is different to metropolitan, regional and even rural settings. Climate, culture, language, your personal and professional roles, and some of the things you take for granted in your usual setting will be very different. Remote practice requires openness to change. Preparation, flexibility and adaptation are the foundation of a rewarding experience.
Queensland Health: Primary Clinical Care Manual
Publication
The Primary Clinical Care Manual (PCCM) supports and enables rural, remote and isolated clinicians to provide evidence-based, quality and safe care for people living in these areas. The PCCM is reflective of the most recent evidence, which is adapted to the rural, remote and isolated context, and is the principal clinical reference for health professionals working in these areas.
Diabetes Australia Best Practice Guidelines
Publication
Developed by medical experts and researchers, Diabetes Australia Best Practice Guidelines exist to guide health professionals in the prevention, diagnosis and management of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes in Australia.
National Vaccine Storage Guidelines ‘Strive for 5’
Publication
The National vaccine storage guidelines have been written to assist all Australian immunisation service providers, including medical practices, large hospitals, clinics, mobile services and outreach providers. The guidelines describe the best approach to ensure that clients receive effective and potent vaccines; describe the ‘cold chain’ and provide advice on what should be done in the event of a cold chain breach; include resources such as charts and checklists; and apply to vaccines stored in purpose-built vaccine refrigerators.
National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards
Publication
The Standards comprise of eight nationally consistent statements about the level of care consumers can expect from health services. Their primary aim is to protect the public from harm and to improve the quality of health service provision.
RACGP (Royal Australian College of General Practice) Standards for General Practices, 5th Edition
Publication
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has developed the Standards with the purpose of protecting patients from harm by improving the quality and safety of health services. They also support general practices in identifying and addressing any gaps in their systems and processes.
Telehealth Standards: Registered Midwives
Publication
The Telehealth Standards: Registered Midwives has been developed to support midwives using or considering using Telehealth. The standards provide guidance for professional practice in the delivery of care within the Telehealth environment.
Telehealth Standards: Registered Nurses
Publication
The Telehealth Standards: Registered Nurses has been developed to support registered nurses using or considering using Telehealth. The standards provide guidance for professional practice in the delivery of care within the Telehealth environment.
National Palliative Care Standards, 5th Edition
Website
The National Palliative Care Standards (the Standards) clearly articulate and promote a vision for compassionate and appropriate specialist palliative care. The Standards recognise the importance of care that is person-centred and age-appropriate. In particular they point to the requirement for specific attention to the needs of people who may be especially vulnerable or at risk. This 5th edition of the Standards has been developed to reflect the significant changes that have occurred since 2005 and to continue to support specialist palliative care services as they work to ensure that the people they service have access to the highest quality of care as they approach and reach the end of life.
Telehealth Guideline
Publication
The Telehealth Guideline is intended to be read alongside the Telehealth Standards: Registered Nurses and the Telehealth Standards: Registered Midwives, to specifically assist registered and enrolled nurses, Nurse Practitioners, registered midwives and eligible midwives to safely and effectively undertake Telehealth online video consultation.
Australian STI Management Guidelines for Use in Primary Care
Website
These Guidelines are an online resource for primary care health professionals. They provide concise information to support the prevention, testing, diagnosis, management and treatment of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) for adults and adolescents and are frequently cited and referenced by other guidelines. They were developed under the auspice of the Australasian Sexual and Reproductive Health Alliance (ASRHA) and are managed by the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM).
National Healthy Skin Guideline
Publication
For the prevention, treatment and public health control of Impetigo, Scabies, Crusted Scabies and Tinea for Indigenous Populations and Communities in Australia. The guideline is designed to help healthcare providers easily recognise, diagnose, and treat skin infections using online resources such as photographs, learning tools and an interactive questionnaire.
Australian Clinical Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Atrial Fibrillation
Website
Produced by the National Heart Foundation of Australia and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, these guidelines have been developed to assist Australian practitioners in the management of adult patients with Atrial fibrillation (AF). AF is the most common recurring arrhythmia faced in clinical practice and it’s estimated that AF is prevalent in two to four per cent of the population in developed nations, such as Australia, and causes substantial morbidity and mortality.
Clinical Care Standards
Publication
A clinical care standard is a number of quality statements that describe the care patients should be offered by health professionals and health services for a specific clinical condition or defined clinical pathway in line with current best evidence. They can play an important role in delivering appropriate care and reducing unwarranted variation, as they identify and define the care people should expect to be offered or receive, regardless of where they are treated in Australia.
Australian Heart Foundation Resources
Website
The Australian Heart Foundation has developed a range of resources for use as part of routine care. View their guidelines, position statements and tools for health professionals, along with resources for patients.
The Australian guideline for the prevention, diagnosis and management of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (Edition 3.3)
Publication
The Australian Guideline is written by clinical and public health experts, researchers, and policymakers, and developed in collaboration with key stakeholders and an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory group. The 2025 edition includes the World Heart Federation updated guidelines for classifying and staging RHD on echocardiogram.
Cancer Council Resources
Website
Access a range of easy-to-read resources for health professionals to advise patients about cancer prevention, screening, and diagnosis; an oncology education section to assist those involved in the management of patients with cancer, and more.
Indigenous Eye Health Unit
Website
The University of Melbourne’s Indigenous Eye Health Unit (IEHU) was established in 2008 at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health to undertake world-leading research that has established an evidence base and policy framework to address Indigenous eye health in Australia.
Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare
Publication
The Guidelines were jointly developed by the Commission and the NHMRC. The Guidelines, together with Commission guidance for specific organisms, provide healthcare workers and health service organisations with support to develop tailored protocols and processes for infection prevention and control at the local level.
Supportive Care: Into The Dreaming
Publication
An innovative resource kit has been developed in NSW to help local Aboriginal communities feel more welcome in palliative care settings and start inclusive and culturally appropriate conversations about end-of-life planning.
palliAGED
Website
This online resource provides evidence-based information, practice guidance and resources on end of life and palliative care for aged care. Includes the palliAGED Apps for clinicians to provide support at the point of care for advanced care planning, case management and symptoms and medicines related to end of life and palliative care issues.
Palliative Care Australia
Website
Palliative Care Australia represents all those who work towards high quality palliative care for all Australians. Working closely with consumers, their Member Organisations and the palliative care workforce, they aim to improve access to, and promote the need for, palliative care.
CareSearch
Website
This site provides evidence-based end of life and palliative care information and resources for health professionals and patients carers and families to enable informed decision making and quality care across the life span and health system.
Community Night Patrol Workforce Safety Report
Publication
A review of literature on the Community Night Patrol workforce and a summary of consultations held with key stakeholders, developed at the beginning of the project.
Working Safely in Community Night Patrol Guidelines
Publication
These guidelines aim to establish best practice in relation to Community Night Patrol Workforce Safety, by providing information, resources and tools to promote consistency and best practice. They have been developed for the use of service provider managers, coordinators and team leaders.
Working Safely in Community Night Patrol Handbook
Publication
This handbook highlights key points and principles from the information contained in the Working Safely in Community Night Patrol eLearning Course. It is designed as a quick reference tool that can be kept in patrol vehicles and offices.
Need further guidance or keen to upskill?
We also offer self-paced online courses and free reflective modules on a range of topics tailored to the remote setting. View all online courses and reflective modules.