October 14, 2026
October 2026

Council approves changes to the Scope of Practice and Medication standards

CNO's Scope of Practice standard and Medication practice standard.

On September 24, 2026, Council approved updates to the Scope of Practice and Medication practice standards. Effective Monday, March 1, 2027, the changes will strengthen client safety, clarify nurses’ accountabilities and support greater consistency in nursing practice across Ontario. 

Council’s decision is based on evidence and supports CNO’s purpose of promoting safe nursing practice for Ontarians. Before reaching its decision, Council carefully considered feedback from nurses, the public and system partners collected through the summer 2026 public consultation. 

What’s changing?

As of Monday, March 1, 2027, the updated standards will require nurses practicing in aesthetics services to:

  • remain onsite for the entire procedure when delegating a procedure to someone who does not otherwise have the authority to perform the controlled act or requires delegation to perform it. For example, when delegating a controlled act such as administering a substance by injection, to an unregulated care provider (UCP)
  • use client-specific orders, rather than directives, for treatments involving prescription drugs or controlled acts

Changes impacting all nurses

Additional changes that clarify nurses’ accountabilities across all practice settings include:

  • the expectation for authorized providers to assess a client before issuing a client-specific order
  • clearer delegation requirements 

What is staying the same?

As always, nurses must continue to assess clients and have the knowledge, skill and judgment needed to provide safe care. 

Nurses who delegate remain responsible for ensuring the person accepting the delegation can perform the procedure safely. They also remain accountable for the client’s ongoing care. Registered Nurses (RNs) and Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) do not need delegation to perform controlled acts (for example, injecting a substance) that they are already authorized to perform.

Learn more 

We encourage you to learn more about the changes to the standards by reading the updated Scope of Practice and Medication practice standards and reviewing Aesthetic Services information on our website.

Please continue to also monitor cno.org and CNO’s social media channels for information about an upcoming webinar and other updates. 

We are here to support you

We recognize that regulatory changes may require adjustments to your nursing practice. If you have questions about your nursing accountabilities or need help understanding or applying CNO standards in your practice, please reach out through the Practice Support Form. 

We thank you for your ongoing commitment to the nursing profession. 

About CNO

The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) is the regulator of the nursing profession in Ontario. It is not a school or a nursing association. CNO acts in the public interest by:

  • assessing qualifications and registering individuals who want to practice nursing in Ontario.
  • setting the practice standards of the profession that nurses in Ontario are expected to meet.
  • promoting nurses' continuing competence through a quality assurance program.
  • holding nurses accountable to those standards by addressing complaints or reports about nursing care.

The College was founded in 1963. By establishing the College, the Ontario government was acknowledging that the nursing profession had the ability to govern itself and put the public's well-being ahead of professional interests.

For the latest information, please see our Nursing Statistics page.

Anyone who wants to use a nursing-related title — Registered Nurse (RN), Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) or Nurse Practitioner (NP) must become a member of CNO.

Frequently Asked Questions

Go to the public Register, Find a Nurse, to conduct a search for the nurse. Contact us if you can't find the person you are looking for.

All public information available about nurses is posted in the public Register, Find a Nurse, which contains profiles of every nurse in Ontario. Publicly available information about nurses include their registration history, business address, and information related to pending disciplinary hearings or past findings.

Unregistered practitioners are people who are seeking employment in nursing or holding themselves out as being able to practice nursing in Ontario, but who are not qualified to do so. They are not registered members of CNO. Only people registered with CNO can use nursing-related titles or perform certain procedures that could cause harm if carried out by a non-registered health professional. CNO takes the issue of unregistered practitioners seriously. See Unregistered Practitioners for more information.

To ensure procedural fairness for both the patient (or client) and the nurse, the Regulated Health Professions Act requires that information gathered during an investigation remain confidential until the matter is referred to the Discipline Committee or Fitness to Practise Committee. CNO will not disclose any information that could identify patients (or clients) or compromise an investigation. See Investigations: A Process Guide for more information.

Information obtained during an investigation will become public if the matter is referred to a disciplinary hearing. If a complaint is not referred to a hearing, no information will be available publicly.

See CNO's hearings schedule, which is updated as hearing dates are confirmed. Hearings at CNO are open to the public and the media. For details on how to attend a hearing, contact the Hearings Administration Team.

A summary of allegations and the disciplinary panel outcomes can be found on the public Register, Find a Nurse. Full decisions and reasons are also available.

Where a disciplinary panel makes a finding of professional misconduct, they have the authority to reprimand a nurse, and suspend or revoke a nurse's registration. Terms, conditions and limitations can also be imposed on a nurse's registration, which restricts their practice for a set period. Nurses can also be required to complete remedial activities, such as reviewing CNO documents and meeting with an expert, before returning to practice.

For detailed information see the Sexual Abuse Prevention section.

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