LAW & REGULATIONS
National Quality Standard
The National Quality Standard (NQS) sets a high national benchmark for early childhood education and care and outside school hours care services in Australia.
The NQS includes 7 quality areas that are important outcomes for children.
Services are assessed and rated by their regulatory authority against the NQS, and given a rating for each of the 7 quality areas and an overall rating based on these results.
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Educational programme and practice
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Children’s health and safety
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Physical environment
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Staffing arrangements
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Relationships with children
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Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
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Governance and leadership
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For more information National Quality Standard (NQS) go to:
https://www.acecqa.gov.au/nqf/national-quality-standard
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National Quality Framework
The National Quality Framework or NQF is a national legislative framework developed to create a uniform national approach to the regulation and quality of all Early Childhood education services in Australia. All services are Approved to operate and governed by the:
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The Department of Education and Community are the Regulatory Authority in NSW and are responsible for administering the National Quality Framework for all early childhood services in NSW.
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There is also a national body which oversees the NQF to ensure consistent and effective implementation of the system. This body is the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority or ACECQA.
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For information and newsletters regarding the National Quality Framework go to:
Information and resources on the ACECQA website reflect the 2018 National Quality Standard (NQS).
Find out more about recent changes to the National Quality Framework.