The National Officiating Accreditation Scheme (NOAS) was established in 1994 to assist national sporting organisations develop a group of skilled officials. It aims to develop and implement programs that improve the quality, quantity, leadership and status of sports officiating in Australia.

NOAS training programs include the following components:

• General principles – fundamentals of officiating and event management
• Sport-specific – technical rules, interpretations, reporting and sport-specific roles for officials
• Officiating practice – practical officiating and application of officiating principles.

The Softball Australian National Umpire Program and Accreditation system ensures that Softball umpires are recognised by NOAS. Accreditation means an individual is deemed as competent in the on-diamond aspects of umpiring (such as mechanics, rotations, strike zone, safety management etc.) and rules knowledge (as tested by a rules exam), to officiate an appropriate game. Expected competencies increase in line with the standard of game, as does the required rule knowledge.