A national professional standards council for professions wanting to access capped professional indemnity (PI) premiums is on its way – albeit with strange timing.

According to the Australian Financial Review, professional standards councils in NSW, Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory have passed the relevant legislation and entered into an agreement that will effectively allow a single national council for determining and regulating professional standards.

The newspaper reported that standards councils were initially created to manage the “spiralling cost of professional indemnity premiums”. What it didn’t mention is that PI rates across most professions have dropped in the past 12 months.

While different councils will continue to operate in separate jurisdictions, members from each of the state and territory councils will join to make one governing council to govern standards.

NSW has taken the lead, using the interstate Standing Committee of Attorneys-General to push for a consistent approach to professional standards.

NSW Attorney-General Bob Debus has been vocal in his support for national standards. “The new national arrangements will allow for a single, consistent set of schemes across the country which will bring benefits for both professional groups, and most importantly, consumers,” he said.