Raising the standard Tasmania: What the new program could mean for ECEC quality and oversight

The Tasmanian Government has launched Raising the Standard Tasmania, a new program intended to lift standards and strengthen oversight across early childhood education and care (ECEC). Announced on 13 January 2026, the program will provide targeted support to Tasmanian services through mentoring, workshops, eLearning and professional development, with delivery planned across the next two years and an outcomes report due in early 2028. 

A new Tasmanian Government program aimed at lifting standards and strengthening oversight in early childhood education and care (ECEC) services has been announced by Education Minister Jo Palmer. The initiative, Raising the Standard Tasmania is described as a two-year program offering “targeted and intensive support” to services, including mentoring, workshops, eLearning opportunities, and a focus on continuous improvement. 

The announcement lands at a time when child safety expectations across the National Quality Framework (NQF) have sharpened, with refinements to the National Quality Standard (NQS) taking effect from 1 January 2026, strengthening the explicit focus on child safety in Quality Areas 2 and 7. 

Raising the Standard Tasmania will provide:

• mentoring
• workshops
• eLearning opportunities
• a stronger focus on continuous improvement
• access to national resources
• professional development opportunities

The Tasmanian Government has said the program will be delivered over the next two years, complementing existing work to ensure approved Tasmanian ECEC services are meeting the National Quality Standard. A final report on outcomes is expected in early 2028. 

The release does not yet outline eligibility, selection processes or participation requirements. However, the components listed, mentoring, professional learning, eLearning and continuous improvement, signal a familiar pattern used in quality uplift initiatives: practical coaching combined with service-level review and documented improvement actions.

For leadership teams, the value of this approach usually sits in two places:

1. making improvement doable (turning Quality Improvement Plans into practical weekly actions), and
2. making improvement visible (records that show decisions, actions and follow-through).

The Minister’s release emphasises “high standards of safety, quality education and effective regulation”.
Those priorities map closely to several Quality Areas, with the strongest alignment in 2026 sitting in child safety and governance.

Quality Area 2 focuses on safeguarding children’s health and safety, including preventing harm and hazards and embedding child safety expectations in everyday practice. The NQS refinements commencing 1 January 2026 explicitly sharpen the child safety focus in this Quality Area. 

Quality Area 7 sets expectations for effective leadership, systems, oversight and continuous improvement. The same NQS refinements from 1 January 2026 strengthen the explicit focus on child safety within governance and leadership. 

Quality Area 4: Staffing arrangements and Quality Area 5: Relationships with children may also be practical “impact zones” if the program’s mentoring and professional learning focus on workforce capacity and day-to-day practice uplift, as suggested by the Minister’s reference to workforce capacity and service quality. 

While participation details are not yet included in the release, there are several actions that position services well for any uplift or oversight initiative, especially one framed around child safety and continuous improvement.

1) Treat “continuous improvement” as a system, not a document

Quality improvement is most defensible when it can be traced from:

• identified risk or need
• action taken (who/when/what)
• follow-up review
• evidence of improved practice

2) Make child safety expectations explicit in governance routines

In a stronger child safety environment, evidence often sits in ordinary leadership routines:

• induction and refreshers (what is taught, how often, and how understanding is checked)
• supervision planning and review
• incident/near miss review patterns and corrective actions
• maintenance and environment checks linked to risk controls

3) Use credible national resources consistently

The release references “access to national resources”.

ACECQA’s NQF eLearning modules are one example of national resources that services often use for induction and ongoing professional learning to support consistent understanding of NQF expectations. 

Raising the Standard Tasmania has been positioned as a two-year support and oversight initiative designed to lift standards across Tasmanian ECEC, with an outcomes report expected in early 2028. 

If the program delivers the promised mentoring, professional learning and continuous improvement focus, it may provide a practical pathway for services to strengthen quality and demonstrate compliance in ways that are visible, consistent and sustainable.

Read the Premier of Tasmania, Jo Palmer, Minister for Education, Raising the standard of Tasmanian early childhood education and care, media release here.