Staff waivers fall for seventh consecutive quarter, ACECQA snapshot shows

The proportion of long day care (LDC) services with staffing waivers has fallen for the seventh consecutive quarter, according to ACECQA’s latest NQF Snapshot. All states and territories reported year-on-year declines, with the exception of Tasmania.

As at June 2025, 12.4 per cent of LDC services had a staffing waiver in place, down from 15.6 per cent in June 2024 and 17.0 per cent in March 2023. 

The continued decline in outstanding waivers has been supported by workforce retention payments and slower enrolments early in the year, reducing staffing pressures. 

At 12.4 per cent, staffing waivers are approaching pre-COVID levels. If the current rate of decline continues, pre-pandemic benchmarks are expected to be reached within the next six months.

Across all settings, staffing waivers averaged 7.5 per cent, with comparatively low levels in outside school hours care (1.6 per cent), family day care (1.2 per cent) and preschool services (2.2 per cent).

On a state and territory basis, all jurisdictions except Tasmania recorded year-on-year reductions in LDC staffing waivers, with South Australia and the Northern Territory seeing the largest declines.

Western Australia continues to record the highest proportion of waivers, reflecting strong growth in new LDC services over the past six months. South Australia and New South Wales followed with the next highest rates.

Five jurisdictions, the ACT, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria now report waiver levels below those recorded in March 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is up from three jurisdictions last quarter, signalling that improvements are broadening across the sector. 

The latest ACECQA NQF Snapshots can be accessed click here.