Notifications for A&R to change in 2024: 5 days notice for New South Wales

The New South Wales branch of the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) is “grossly disappointed” in a decision by the NSW Regulatory Authority to change the notification period for assessment and rating visits from 8+ weeks to five days.

Nearly 80 per cent of respondents in a recent survey from ACA NSW were against the changes, however the Regulatory Authority, the ACA NSW has claimed, believes that “services should always be at their best, regardless of their available personnel.

“ACA NSW agrees with this in-principle. But such an objective must always be tempered in practice, especially when faced with the continuing and worsening labour shortages,” a statement from ACA NSW notes.

“Obviously, with 5 days’ notice of an impending Assessment and Rating, the affected service’s Approved Provider, Nominated Supervisor and Educational Leader (as well as other educators and teachers) may not always be available to be present due to planned leave.”

“It must be recognised that the National Law and National Regulations place legal responsibilities as well as the risk of financial penalties on Approved Providers and the Nominated Supervisors. Educational Leaders are also specifically responsible for at least Quality Areas 1 and 7. Therefore, there is not only an ethical obligation to ensure that these individuals must always be present during Assessment and Rating for the service(s) they are responsible for, there is also the need for procedural fairness that Assessment and Rating can only be properly completed with them present.”

ACA NSW said it will continue to advocate for improvements to NSW’s Assessment and Rating process. 

“The alternative is a Quality Rating system that is not universally recognised or embraced by all parents, and further declining support by services to strive beyond Meeting the National Quality Standards.”