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In May 1996, Wodonga Institute of TAFE, Kangan Institute of TAFE, the Health Industry Training and Employment Scheme (HITES) and Preston and Northcote Community Hospital (PANCH) formed a consortium. The consortium successfully tendered for a project, to identify and demonstrate best practice in the workplace-based delivery of key operative level training for health care workers, specifically the Certificate in Patient Services. The training is designed to train workers to adopt a new work role in the context of changing workplace requirements in the health care industry. Four critical success factors (CSFs) were identified: a health care provider and union commitment to workplace reform which supports the active involvement of ancillary staff, and the delivery of training to facilitate change in the organisational culture; clear and effective lines of communication between management, union, the training provider and all levels of staff; trainees who are informed about the aims and objectives of Patient Services Assistant (PSA) training; and a negotiated and documented agreement between the health care provider and a registered training provider. A professional development package has also been developed and is a separate volume with this report. The professional development kit 'Patient services: better jobs, better outcomes: professional development kit - Patient Services Assistant training' has been designed to assist key stakeholders involved in the training and implementation of the PSA role in the Health Care Sector by guiding them through the issues associated with these workplace reforms. It explains the process of PSA training and role implementation in different organisational contexts.