3. Implementation of the National Quality Framework
3.1 Assessment of the Implementation and Administration of the NQF
Sector overview
There were 15,763 education and care services approved to operate under the NQF at the end of the 2017-18 financial year, representing an annual increase of one per cent.
There were 15,007 centre-based [1] services and 756 family day care [2] services.
Since the end of the 2016-17 financial year, the number of approved family day care services has decreased by 15 per cent.
There were 7386 approved providers of services, most of whom (82 per cent) were approved to operate one education and care service.
Figure 3: The number of approved services under the NQF
[1.Centre-based services include most long day care, preschool/kindergarten and outside school hours care services. They do not include preschools in Tasmania or Western Australia that are outside of the scope of the NQF, or other services that aren't regulated under the National Law.]
[2. Family day care services provide education and care in residences. They are sometimes known as family day care schemes and are administered and supported by central coordination units.]
The proportion of childhood education and care services assessed and rated against the National Quality Standard
Under the NQF, in addition to ongoing compliance, monitoring, enforcement and investigation activities, regulatory authorities in each state and territory quality assess and rate children's education and care services against the NQS.
As at 30 June 2018, 14,794 services (94 per cent) had received a quality rating, up from 14,106 services (91 per cent) at 30 June 2017.
Table 5: The number and proportion of services with a quality rating
|
Number of services |
Number of approved |
Proportion of services with |
|
|
ACT |
320 |
358 |
89% |
|
NSW |
5,221 |
5,428 |
96% |
|
NT |
210 |
225 |
93% |
|
QLD |
2,768 |
2,917 |
95% |
|
SA |
1,066 |
1,172 |
91% |
|
TAS |
220 |
232 |
95% |
|
VIC |
3,904 |
4,249 |
92% |
|
WA |
1,058 |
1,182 |
92% |
|
TOTAL |
14,794 |
15,763 |
94% |
Figure 4: The seven quality areas and five quality ratings of the NQS
Table 6: Overall quality ratings by jurisdiction and nationally
|
Significant improvement |
Working Towards |
Meeting |
Exceeding |
Excellent |
TOTAL |
|
|
ACT |
0 |
86 (27%) |
85 (27%) |
144 (45%) |
5 |
320 |
|
NSW |
19 |
1,259 (24%) |
2,372 (45%) |
1555 (30%) |
16 |
5,221 |
|
NT |
0 |
80 (38%) |
95 (45%) |
34 (16%) |
1 |
210 |
|
QLD |
3 |
508 (18%) |
1356 (49%) |
887 (32%) |
14 |
2,768 |
|
SA |
0 |
282 (26%) |
262 (25%) |
515 (48%) |
7 |
1066 |
|
TAS |
0 |
45 (20%) |
91 (41%) |
84 (38%) |
0 |
220 |
|
VIC |
4 |
632 (16%) |
1932 (49%) |
1327 (34%) |
9 |
3,904 |
|
WA |
0 |
352 (32%) |
445 (41%) |
288 (27%) |
0 |
1,085 |
|
TOTAL |
26 |
3,244 (22%) |
6,638 (45%) |
4,834 (33%) |
52 |
14,794 |
NQS ratings
Authorised officers from state and territory regulatory authorities assess and rate services against the quality areas, standards and elements that make up the NQS. A revised version of the NQS (the 2018 NQS) came into effect on 1 February 2018. The 2018 NQS has fewer elements and standards than the original version of the NQS (the 2012 NQS). It also uses clearer language to describe the elements and standards.
As at 30 June 2018, 78 per cent of services were rated Meeting NQS or above, up from 73 per cent as at 30 June 2017.
Centre-based and family day care services
As at 30 June 2018, family day care services (54%) were more likely to be rated Working Towards NQS than centre-based services (20%).
Figure 5: Overall quality ratings by service type
Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA+)
The Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA+) is a geographical approach to defining remoteness in Australia.
Analysis of assessment and rating data for centre-based services as at the end of the 2017-18 financial year suggests that geographic remoteness has an effect on the distribution of quality ratings, notably at the Exceeding NQS rating level.
Table 7: Overall quality ratings by geographic remoteness - centre-based services
|
ARIA+ location |
Working Towards NQS |
Meeting NQS |
Exceeding NQS |
|
Major Cities of Australia |
20% |
45% |
34% |
|
Inner Regional Australia |
19% |
49% |
32% |
|
Outer Regional Australia |
21% |
48% |
31% |
|
Remote Australia |
24% |
52% |
24% |
|
Very Remote Australia |
43% |
42% |
14% |
|
TOTAL |
20% |
46% |
33% |
Quality areas
As at 30 June 2018, the quality areas of the NQS with the highest proportion of services rated Working Towards NQS were:
- Quality Area 1 (Educational program and practice) - 17%
- Quality Area 7 (Governance and leadership) - 15%
- Quality Area 2 (Children's health and safety) - 14%
- Quality Area 3 (Physical environment) - 13%
More information
Our quarterly NQF Snapshot reports provide analysis and information on the profile of the education and care sector, the progress of assessment and rating, and the quality ratings awarded to services, including examining the distribution of ratings by provider management type, service sub-type and geographically. The online and PDF reports are available on the research and reports page of our website.
NQS data for all services that have received a quality rating is also available to download as an Excel workbook.
Figure 6: Quality area ratings
