Compliance surge reveals South Australian early learning sector gaps and gains

A significant compliance effort in South Australia has uncovered concerning gaps in quality across early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, prompting swift action and investment.

The South Australian Education Standards Board has doubled its compliance workforce thanks to $7.11 million in additional funding over three years, a move sparked by recommendations from the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care. The funding has supported an increase in full-time equivalent compliance officers from 18 to 39.

Before the funding boost, some services had not been assessed for up to a decade, Acting CEO of the Education Standards Board Sean Heffernan told a parliamentary estimates committee earlier this week.

“What we were finding was a large number of services 50 per cent of those were receiving a ‘working towards’ rating,” Mr Heffernan said.

Under the National Quality Standard (NQS), ECEC services are rated as either ‘significant improvement required’, ‘working towards’, ‘meeting’, or ‘exceeding’ the standard.

Following a statewide crackdown, the number of services rated as ‘working towards’ has fallen to 17 per cent, still nearly double the national average of 9 per cent.

Mr Heffernan said this improvement was supported by the introduction of a pre-assessment visit process, conducted approximately three months before formal assessment. These visits help services identify areas of non-compliance and proactively address them.

The compliance uplift has also seen a rise in staff receiving prohibition notices or entering enforceable undertakings. In 2023–24, three staff were banned from practising, and two entered formal undertakings. In the current financial year, those figures have risen to five and nine respectively.

South Australian Education Minister Blair Boyer attributed the rise in enforcement actions to a 72 per cent increase in site visits. An additional 23 per cent increase in assessments is anticipated for 2024–25.

Shadow Education Minister Heidi Girolamo welcomed the scrutiny but stressed the need for follow-through.

“It’s the next steps that are important to make sure these centres are given enough support to make improvements and keep children safe,” Ms Girolamo said.

Minister Boyer confirmed that the Office for Early Childhood Development is implementing a quality uplift program to support underperforming services.

This wave of reform identifies the ongoing need for investment, transparency and sector-wide collaboration to ensure that all children in South Australia receive safe, high-quality education and care.