Check your qualification is NQF approved
The National Quality Framework (NQF) sets out the minimum qualification requirements for educators working in children's education and care services. There are also some state and territory specific qualification requirements for working with school age children (e.g. in outside school hours care services).
Some states and territories require early childhood teachers (ECTs) to hold teacher registration or accreditation. It is also important to note that individual employers may specify higher qualification requirements (for example, a four year ECT degree) as part of their employment policy.
To see if you are qualified to work in an Australian education and care service with children preschool age and under (e.g. preschool, kindergarten, long day care, family day care or out of school hours care) you can:
- Use the qualification checker
- View the list of approved OSHC qualifications
- Search the NQF approved qualifications list
1. Use the qualification checker
Our qualifications checker allows you to check whether your qualifications are recognised under the NQF and should only take a few minutes to complete. 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.
There may be a small number of individuals who were previously recognised as qualified educators under former laws whose recognition will not be captured by the checker. If you believe you were previously recognised as a qualified educator and the checker does not confirm this, contact your regulatory authority.
The checker cannot be used to determine your suitability for teacher registration or skilled migration.
Launch the qualifications checker
The checker is a guide only. If you have concerns or questions about the information in the checker, you can contact us.
2. View the list of approved OSHC qualifications
Out of school hours care (OSHC) is the name commonly given to services that provide education and care to school age children before/after school and during school holidays.
There are no national qualification requirements for educators educating and caring for school age children in OSHC services. State and territory specific qualification requirements apply in Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia and Northern Territory.
The OSHC qualifications list detailing required qualifications in these jurisdictions is available in PDF or Excel format.
If you have enquiries about state or territory specific provisions, contact your regulatory authority.
If you are an educator with a qualification that does not appear on the OSHC qualifications list, you can apply to ACECQA for a school age qualification assessment.
3. Search the NQF approved qualifications list
To work in a family day care or centre based service with children preschool age and under, educators must hold, or in some circumstances be actively working towards an approved qualification.
Search the list of approved and former approved early childhood teaching, diploma and certificate III level qualifications on this page. The list also includes approved first aid, emergency asthma and anaphylaxis qualifications. The list it is easy to use but if you need some guidance read the how to search file.
If you are an educator with a qualification that does not appear on the below list, you can apply to ACECQA for individual assessment. If you are a provider (e.g. university, VET provider) wanting to add a qualification to the below list, you can apply to ACECQA for this as well.
| Qualification Level | Awarding Institution | Qualification Name | Qualification Code | Date Awarded | Where Qualification is approved | Awarding Institution Country | Important Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diploma | Melbourne College of Advanced Education | Associate Diploma of Arts (Child Care) | Any date before 1 January 2012 | National | Australia | ||
| Diploma | Institute of TAFE Tasmania | Associate Diploma of Child Care | Any date before 1 January 2012 | National | Australia | Also known as 'Associate Diploma in Child Care'. |
|
| Diploma | Colleges of Advanced Education | Associate Diploma of Child Care | Any date before 1 January 2012 | National | Australia | ||
| Diploma | Brisbane College of Advanced Education | Associate Diploma of Child Care | Any date before 1 January 2012 | National | Australia | Also known as 'Associate Diploma in Child Care'. |
|
| Diploma | Brisbane Kindergarten Teachers' College | Associate Diploma of Child Care | Any date before 1 January 2012 | National | Australia | ||
| Diploma | University of Melbourne | Associate Diploma of Child Care | Any date before 1 January 2012 | National | Australia | Also known as 'Associate Diploma in Child Care'. University of Melbourne was formerly known by a different name: Institute of Early Childhood Development OR Kindergarten Training College OR Melbourne College of Advanced Education OR Melbourne Kindergarten Teachers' College OR State College of Victoria |
|
| Diploma | Alice Springs (Centralian) Institute of TAFE | Diploma of Education (Child Care) | Any date before 1 January 2017 | National | Australia | Alice Springs (Centralian) Institute of Technical and Further Education was formerly known by a different name: Alice Springs Community College |
|
| Diploma | Charles Darwin University | Diploma of Education (Child Care) | Any date before 1 January 2017 | National | Australia | Charles Darwin University was formerly known by a different name: Northern Territory University |
|
| Diploma | The Nanny School and College of Early Childhood Studies | Associate Diploma of Child Care and Education | Any date before 1 January 2012 | National | Australia | Also known as 'Associate Diploma in Child Care and Education'. | |
| Diploma | Institute of TAFE Tasmania | Associate Diploma of Child Care Studies | Any date before 1 January 2012 | National | Australia |