Approvals

This section of the issues paper considers the scope of services regulated by the NQF and process and requirements for providers and services seeking to enter the education and care sector. There are four issues being considered under this section.

1.1 Scope of services regulated under the NQF

This issue is most relevant for service providers

Long day care (LDC), family day care (FDC), preschool and outside school hours care (OSHC) services are regulated under the NQF. Other service types are excluded including former Budget Based Funded (BBF) services, mobile preschools, In Home Care (IHC) and occasional care. This issue explores whether out of scope service types should be regulated under the NQF.

To find out what is an out of scope service please view pages 36-37 of the Guide to the NQF.

Additionally, there are a range of different services offered by education and care services such as overnight care and transport. This issue also seeks to determine if regulations should be applied differently in these circumstances.

To find out current advice on supervision and ratio requirements when applied to transport please view page 37 of the Guide to the NQF.

To find out more about ratios for family day care and centre-based services please view pages 429-435 of the Guide to the NQF.

1.2 Application efficiency and effectiveness

This issue is most relevant for service providers

Application processes under the National Law and National Regulations involve significant regulatory and administrative effort for Regulatory Authorities and applicants. These processes are necessary for promoting the safety, health and wellbeing of children. Questions about this issue seek to identify possible ways to improve these processes without compromising outcomes for children.

To find out more about provider approval requirements please view pages 18-35 of the Guide to the NQF.

View Summary of applications required for provider approval

To find out what information should be included in a provider approval application please view page 34.

To find out more about service approval requirements please view pages 36-84 of the Guide to the NQF. View Summary of applications required for service approval.

To find out what information should be included in a service approval application please view page 53.

The issue specifically looks at the interaction between approvals under the National Quality Framework and Australian Government’s Family Assistance Law as well as the difficulties encountered in the application process.

It also considers how the process of assessing potential providers as ‘fit and proper’ can be improved.

To find out more about assessing whether an applicant is a ‘fit and proper’ person please view pages 21-26 of the Guide to the NQF.

1.3 Maintaining current information about service delivery.

This issue is most relevant for service providers

This focuses on whether providers should be required to notify changes to service type and nature of care. Although this is notified prior to approval there is no requirement to update these changes once a service has been approved. The issue focuses on changes to the age range of children in care, but also asks whether there are other changes that should require notification to the Regulatory Authority.

To find out more about notifying your regulatory authority please view notification types and time frames.

1.4 Physical Environment

This issue is most relevant for service providers

This issue invites consideration of how best to ensure services have safe, quality physical environments that promote educational and developmental outcomes for children. It examines whether the current terminology within the National Law and National Regulations make clear to services what a quality physical environment looks like and in what situations it could be acceptable to not meet the standard of a quality physical environment. It also looks at how the requirements could differ with different age groups and the interactions between planning approvals and approvals under the National Quality Framework.

To find out more about ongoing waiver requirements please view pages 60-65 of the Guide to the NQF.

To find out more about temporary waiver requirements please view pages 65-70 of the Guide to the NQF.

To find out more about outdoor space requirements please view page 390 of the Guide to the NQF.

To find out more about indoor space requirements please view page 395 of the Guide to the NQF.