The educational requirements for nurses pertaining to Advanced Life Support (ALS) up to the early 1990's across Australia had been vague and imprecise. Changes by the state registration bodies have seen policy statements replaced by a generic statement regarding the scope of practice by registered nurses. It is now the responsibility of individual institutions or health care agencies to formulate their own policy statements pertaining to ALS and accreditation processes.
With the release in 1993 by the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) of Adult ALS guidelines, and then in 1995 the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) Paediatric ALS guidelines, an opportunity arose for a more unified, consistent approach to ALS education and competency assessment. As a member of the ARC, ACCCN was a key player in the development of the ARC ALS guidelines. ACCCN has a responsibility to promote these guidelines in any activities related to resuscitation practice undertaken, both at the national and state level.
Following the formation of the ACCCN ALS subcommittee, whose terms of reference include the provision of guidelines for national ALS curriculum development and program design (ACCCN Ltd 1997), and a position statement on Adult and Paediatric Resuscitation by Nurses (ACCCN Ltd. March, 2004. 3rd edition), ACCCN recommends that all nurses receive the basic life support (BLS) training as a component of their entry-level qualification, and that they be responsible for maintaining their competence in BLS on at least an annual basis. ACCCN further recommends that, where semi-automatic defibrillators are accessible, competence in their use should be considered a feature of BLS training and practice.
The committee is comprised of representatives from across Australia, a paediatric representative and an Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) representative.
Resuscitation Committiee Advisory Panel Members: Marie Yearwood (WA) CHAIR
Jennifer Dennett (Vic and ARC Representative)
Melanie Greenwood (Tas)
Anne Traill (Vic)
Susie Helmrich (Qld)
Vacant (Paediatric Representative)
Wendy Hall (SA)
Vacant (NSW)
The Resuscitation Committee is involved in many different aspects of ALS. Projects include:
Resuscitation Curriculum Guide
Resuscitation Curriculum Review Service
Resuscitation Position Statement - Resuscitation by Healthcare Professionals
Resuscitation National Database
Input into ARC at a national level, review and development of Basic and Advanced Life Support policies
Advisory Panels 
