Waivers outstanding continue to fall across the board new NQF snapshot says

Jason Roberts

Nov 22, 2024

Save

The percentage of long day care (LDC) services with staff waivers outstanding has fallen for the fourth consecutive quarter according to ACECQA’s latest NQF Snapshot, with all states and territories seeing falls since last year.

As of September 2024, 14.9 per cent of all LDCs had a staffing waiver outstanding, down from 15.6 per cent in the three months to June 2024, and down from 17.4 per cent in the three months to September 2023.

At current levels, staff waivers outstanding are similar to the levels recorded in mid 2022, however are overall still materially higher than the sub 10 per cent levels routinely recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic commenced.

Staff waivers across all settings came in at 8.9 per cent, supported by relatively low levels of waivers recorded at outside school hours care (2.0 per cent), family day care (2.6 per cent) and preschool (3.2 per cent) services.

On a state and territory basis, although both seeing falls over the last twelve months, South Australia at 22.6 per cent and Western Australia at 22.5 per cent have the highest percentages of LDC services with waivers outstanding.

Victoria continues to record the lowest levels by a very substantial margin at just 2.2 per cent.

Queensland has made impressive gains in the last 12 months, with an 8.2 per cent drop year on year however New South Wales had more difficulty in reducing waivers outstanding with a 0.7 per cent fall.

To read the most recent NQF Snapshot click here.

Don’t miss a thing

Childcare centres may have clear rules for staff numbers, but there are loopholes to get around them

There is a growing number of “serious incidents” in Australian early childhood services, including day cares.

What Can Australia Learn from Ontario’s Child Care Ratios?

As workforce pressures continue to shape early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy discussions in Australia, international comparisons provide useful perspectives. Canada’s approach, particularly in Ontario, offers a case study in how educator-to-child ratios, maximum group sizes and qualification requirements can be legislated as an integrated framework.

Burnout in early childhood education: Why leadership support is the missing lever

Early childhood educators have one of the most important jobs in Australia. We trust them to keep our kids safe, to educate them in their most formative years, and to care for them when we can’t do it ourselves. And far too often, educators are doing it all on empty.

Workforce planning in ECEC: from compliance requirement to strategic advantage

With workforce pressures continuing across early childhood education and care (ECEC), a structured approach to workforce planning is emerging as a critical leadership tool, not simply an administrative exercise.

National Early Childhood Worker Register: commencing 27 February 2026

The introduction of the National Early Childhood Worker Register from the 27 February, has signalled a significant shift in workforce oversight across early childhood education and care (ECEC).