Qualifications
Educator qualifications are associated with higher quality early learning.
ACECQA determines if qualifications are equivalent to the approved
educator qualifications under the National Quality Framework,
and assesses skills for migration purposes.
Are you qualified to work in a service?
Our qualifications checker allows you to check whether your qualifications are recognised under the NQF and if you are qualified to work in a regulated Australian education and care service. The checker will guide you through a series of questions to confirm if you are a qualified educator. It will also tell you what evidence you can show to demonstrate you are qualified.
You can also find the ACECQA qualifications list on this page which includes all approved and former approved early childhood teaching, diploma and certificate III level qualifications. Approved first aid, emergency asthma and anaphylaxis qualifications can be found on the list too.
Qualifications requirements
Are you interested in working in the early childhood sector?
Do you know what the qualification requirements are to work in an approved service?
Look no further - here we break down the qualification requirements for Australian education and care services.
Apply to have your qualifications assessed
As an educator, if your education and care qualification is not listed on the approved qualifications list you can apply to ACECQA to have it assessed for equivalence. This will allow you to work in education and care services in Australia.
Assessment of early childhood qualifications under the NQF
'Early childhood' qualifications relate to the delivery of education and care to children preschool age and under.
Migration skills assessment
A skills assessment is for applicants applying for a skilled migration visa in a relevant occupation.
DAMA skills assessment
A skills assessment for applicants applying for a visa under a Designated area migration agreements (DAMA).
Assessment of school age qualifications
School age qualifications relate to the delivery of education and care to school age children, commonly known as outside school hours care (OSHC).
Provisional skills assessment
For the purposes of the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485), ACECQA completes provisional skills assessments for the Child Care Centre Manager occupation.
Interested to know how many applications ACECQA has approved?
Visit ACECQA's interactive chart with data concerning the number of qualification assessment applications received and processed.
Data as at 1 April 2023
Qualification and training course approvals
Course providers can apply to ACECQA to have their education programs assessed and added to ACECQA’s published list of approved qualifications.
Approval of early childhood educator programs
Apply for ACECQA approval of your early childhood education and care program by submitting an application for program approval.
Approval of first aid, emergency asthma management and anaphylaxis management training
Apply for ACECQA approval of your first aid, emergency asthma management and anaphylaxis qualifications and training courses, by submitting an application for training course approval.
Early childhood teacher registration and accreditation
Registration is not a requirement for early childhood teachers (ECTs) under the National Quality Framework (NQF) but it is a requirement under some state and territory legislation.
See the table for individual teacher registration or accreditation requirements in your state or territory, or contact your local teacher regulatory authority for more information.
To work as an ECT under the NQF, you need to hold an approved early childhood teaching qualification. Check if your qualification is approved.
How to make a complaint about a training provider
If you are unhappy with your training provider’s service the first thing to do is talk to your trainer or their manager. Often problems are the result of miscommunication, and your trainer will resolve the issue with you informally.
If you are still dissatisfied and believe they are not meeting the requirements of your training, or if you are a prospective student, recent graduate, employer or other stakeholder with concerns, contact the Australian Skills Quality Authority.
ASQA takes complaints seriously and values feedback from the sector to inform its regulatory operations.