International Mutual Recognition: Progress and Prospects. Working Paper.

Increasing the mobility of service providers, including professionals, via mutual recognition (of regulatory systems) agreements (MRAs) has become a significant issue worldwide. Despite increasing interest in MRAs, it may be argued that MRAs are but one of a larger range of major developments that have fueled current interest in occupational competence descriptors and professional practice. Other important developments are as follows: rapid and accelerating change; public dissatisfaction with the professions; the limited understanding of the nature of professional practice; the emergence of a knowledge society; globalization leading to a corporate model of service provision; and moves to alternative and flexible modes of service delivery. The claim that mutual recognition is but one issue among these major developments may be illustrated by the examples of the following accreditation schemes: (1) the Law Society of New South Wales Specialist Accreditation Scheme; (2) the regulatory model recently developed in the United States by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing; (3) the competence-based assessment strategy developed by the Dietitians Association of Australia; and (4) various practices being used to assess competence in 17 Australian professions. These examples demonstrate that the role of professional competence standards in MRAs and in professionals' mobility is far from clear. (Contains 25 references.) (MN)