Health Libraries Australia (HLA) has released its updated Competencies for Health Librarians and Health Library Technicians (2026) - a contemporary and future-oriented framework that reflects the expanding scope, complexity, and impact of health librarianship in Australia.

Replacing the 2018 edition, the revised competencies respond to a rapidly evolving health and information environment, shaped by digital transformation, data-intensive practice, and the centrality of the related concepts of evidence-based care and information governance.

One of the most visible changes is the increase from eight to nine competency areas, with the creation of the new fifth area: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health context. Additionally, the updated scoping and description statements and expanded examples of specific activities, signal a broader, deeper and more nuanced articulation of professional practice, roles and responsibilities. The updated framework now comprises the following nine Competency Areas:

• Health reference and information services
• Health data, information and knowledge management
• Health information literacy and education for evidence-based inquiry
• Digital health and technologies
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health context
• The health environment, communities and stakeholders
• Health research
• Health leadership and management
• Health professionalism

With the renumbering of the competency areas, the revised competencies have been re-aligned to match the ALIA Framework of Skills, Knowledge and Ethics (2025), reinforcing their function as a specialist extension for the health sector. This re-alignment supports a clearer professional pathway for qualified librarians and library technicians, connecting foundational capabilities with advanced, domain-specific, health specialist professional knowledge, skills and expertise[1].

Crucially, the updated competencies emphasise the role of health librarians and health library technicians as partners embedded in clinical care, research, and education - professionals who not only manage information, but actively contribute to knowledge translation, policy, decision-making and information governance.

As health systems continue to evolve, the 2026 HLA Competencies provide a timely and practical tool for workforce development, professional identity, and advocacy - ensuring that health librarians remain visible, relevant, and indispensable within Australia’s healthcare landscape.

A sincere thank you to Ann Ritchie and the Reference Group for their dedication and valuable contributions to the development of these competencies.

[1] See p23: Graphic representation of the relationship of the ALIA/Health Libraries Australia (HLA) Competencies for Health Librarians and Health Library Technicians 2026 to the ALIA Framework of Skills, Knowledge and Ethics for the Library and Information Services Workforce (July 2025).