Clinical Care Standards play an important role in the Australian health care system, guiding the delivery of appropriate care and reducing unwarranted clinical practice variation for various health conditions and procedures. Clinical Care Standards identify and define the care people should be offered or receive, regardless of where they live in Australia. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care is developing a Clinical Care Standard for emergency laparotomy, prompted by ANZELA-QI reports and other data showing wide inter-hospital variation in processes and outcomes of care for emergency laparotomy patients. Development of the Clinical Care Standard commenced this year, and it is due for release in 2026. This session will discuss Clinical Care Standards and how they work to bring about improvements in care, with a focus on the development process for the Emergency Laparotomy Clinical Care Standard and the opportunities available to provide input into the standard’s development.