4. How is an assessment and rating visit conducted?

Evidence collection

Authorised officers are trained to use ‘observe’, ‘discuss’ and ‘sight’ techniques to gather information and evidence that supports assessment of the service against the NQS, and the National Law and National Regulations.

Observe. The authorised officer may observe children, families, educators, directors, co-ordinators and staff members as part of the service’s practices.

Discuss. The authorised officer may discuss the service’s practices with the key contact person, educators, directors, co-ordinators, family day care educator assistants or staff members.

Sight. The authorised officer may sight documentation required by the National Law and Regulations, and other documentation as evidence of the service’s practices.

For more guidance on how the elements of the NQS may be assessed, see the National Quality Standard.

Communication before and after the visit 

The authorised officer may contact the provider of the service before and/or after an assessment and rating visit. This contact may be for example, by phone, video conference or email. The authorised officer may use this opportunity to discuss the service's practices, or request to sight documentation. 

Communication during the visit

When visiting a service, the authorised officer(s) introduces themselves to the key contact person and explains what to expect in an assessment and rating visit, including how they will gather evidence (by observing, discussing and sighting evidence). Typically, the authorised officer will ask for a brief tour of the service and to be introduced to educators and staff.

During the visit, authorised officers will try to minimise disruption to practice, unless there is a significant risk to children.

Authorised officers may:

• inform the key contact person when taking breaks
• provide the key contact person with broad verbal feedback, but they cannot give an indication of the rating at this time
• advise of any matters where they can offer the Minor Adjustment Policy, and the timeframe to fix the issue/s.

The assessment and rating process is an important opportunity for providers to demonstrate how the service is delivering quality outcomes against the NQS for children in the context of the service, families and community.

The authorised officer should inform the service that a draft report with ratings for all quality areas and an overall rating will be provided approximately three to five weeks after the visit, and that the approved provider will have 10 working days to provide feedback on any inaccuracies in the report.

Reassessments may also be undertaken without a visit, if the evidence to be considered does not include observations of practice. 

How are ratings determined?

[ National Law & Regulations, Section 152, Regulations 57–62 ] After an assessment and rating visit occurs, the regulatory authority will:

• consider evidence provided by the approved provider where there have been minor adjustments
• determine the ratings, including assessing inconsistent practice where applicable.

The regulatory authority determines ratings by assessing each element of the NQS. Each standard and quality area is then rated. The overall rating is calculated based on these results.

Services must be rated Exceeding in all quality areas of the NQS to be eligible to apply to ACECQA for the Excellent rating.

Assessing elements

The authorised officer will assess each element as met or not met.

Assessing standards

The authorised officer will assess the evidence against each standard.

• If any element under a standard is not met, the rating for that standard will be Working Towards NQS.
• If all elements are met, the authorised officer will determine whether service practice for each standard represents what is expected at the Meeting level (Meeting NQS) or represents a level of quality above what is required at the Meeting level (Exceeding NQS).
• Each standard will be rated at either Meeting NQS or Exceeding NQS.

The following three themes must be demonstrated in service practice for a standard to be rated as Exceeding NQS:

Theme 1. Practice is embedded in service operations

Theme 2. Practice is informed by critical reflection


Theme 3. Practice is shaped by meaningful engagement with families and/or the community.

See Exceeding theme guidance for more information.

Determining quality area ratings

After the authorised officer has assessed each standard, the quality area ratings are calculated.

• If any standard within a quality area has been rated as Working Towards NQS, the rating for the quality area will be Working Towards NQS.
• If all standards within a quality area are rated at least Meeting NQS, the rating for that quality area will be at least Meeting NQS.
• If all standards within a quality area are rated Exceeding NQS, the rating for the quality area will be Exceeding NQS.
• If all standards within a quality area are rated at least Meeting NQS, but not all standards are rated Exceeding NQS, the rating for the quality area will be Meeting NQS.

Determining overall service ratings

• If any quality area has been rated as Working Towards NQS, the overall service rating cannot be higher than Working Towards NQS.
• If all quality areas are at least Meeting NQS and four or more quality areas are rated as Exceeding NQS, with at least two of these being quality areas 1, 5, 6, or 7, the overall rating will be Exceeding NQS.
• Services rated Exceeding NQS in all seven quality areas are eligible to apply to ACECQA for the Excellent rating.

The Significant Improvement Required rating

A rating of Significant Improvement Required can be applied at the standard and quality area level. If a rating of Significant Improvement Required is given for any standard or quality area, the overall service rating is Significant Improvement Required.

How quality rating levels are determined

The following table demonstrates how the authorised officer determines ratings by assessing each element against the NQS to determine if it is met or not met. This information is then used to rate each standard and quality area to determine the overall rating.

Task	Rating Levels
	Significant Improvement Required	Working Towards National Quality Standard	Meeting National Quality Standard	Exceeding National Quality Standard
1. Assess each element as ‘met’ or ‘not met’	Assess each element as ‘met’ or ‘not met’ and determine compliance with the relevant regulations.
2. Rate each standard	A Significant Improvement Required rating may be given for a standard and/or quality area. See below.	Service does not meet one or more elements or relevant regulations for the standard. The service does not meet the standard.	All elements and relevant regulations for the standard are 'met'. The service does not demonstrate the three Exceeding themes for the standard. The standard is rated Meeting NQS	All elements and relevant regulations for the standard are 'met'. The service demonstrates the three Exceeding themes for the standard: Practice is embedded in service operations Practice is informed by critical reflection Practice is shaped by meaningful engagement with families and/or the community The standard is rated Exceeding NQS. See Exceeding theme guidance for more information.
3. Rate each quality area	Service does not meet that quality area or a relevant regulation for that quality area and the regulatory authority is satisfied there is a significant risk to the safety, health or wellbeing of any child or children being educated and cared for by the service.	Service does not meet a standard in that quality area or a relevant regulation for that quality area but is not rated as Significant Improvement Required (regulation 60(1)).	Service meets the standards and relevant regulations for that quality area (regulation 61(1)). Some standards may be rated Exceeding in the quality area.	Service exceeds the standards for that quality area and complies with the relevant regulations for that quality area (regulation 62(1)), subject to the following criteria: Criteria 1 If a service provides education and care for children who are in the year that is 2 years before grade 1 of school, the service can only be rated Exceeding NQS in Quality Area 1 if the service either: provides a preschool program, or has a documented arrangement with an approved provider of another education and care service to provide a preschool program and informs parents of this arrangement (regulation 62(2)). Criteria 2 To be rated Exceeding NQS in a quality area: All standards in the quality area must be rated Exceeding NQS.
4.Determine overall rating	Overall rating is Significant Improvement Required if the service is rated Significant Improvement Required for any quality area (regulation 59(2)).	Overall rating is Working Towards NQS if any quality areas are rated Working Towards NQS but the service does not have a Significant Improvement Required rating for any quality area (regulation 60(2)).	Overall rating is Meeting NQS if all quality areas are rated Meeting NQS and/or Exceeding NQS but the service does not satisfy the requirements of regulation 62 for an overall Exceeding NQS rating (regulation 61(2)).	Overall rating is Exceeding NQS if all quality areas are rated at least Meeting NQS, and four or more quality areas are Exceeding NQS, with at least two of these being quality areas 1, 5, 6 or 7.