NQF review window closing – educator input sought before 30 June

Readers of The Sector are reminded of the due date for having their say and providing feedback to the 2019 Review of the National Quality Framework (NQF), with the review window closing this Sunday, 30 June 2019. 

The review aims to consider how outcomes for children are impacted by regulation of providers and their services under the NQF. The review seeks answers and perspectives from the early childhood education and care (ECEC) perspective in relation to four main topic divisions, namely: 

• Approvals: covering and considering the scope of services regulated by the NQF and process and requirements for providers and services seeking to enter the education and care sector.

• Operation: covering and considering how the operation of providers and services should be regulated and the ongoing approach to regulation under the NQF.

• Public Awareness of Service Quality: covering and considering how to improve public awareness and understanding of quality ratings. 

• Compliance and Enforcement: this section focuses on how compliance with the NQF can best be achieved, including responses to non-compliance that poses a risk to the safety, health and wellbeing of children.

The issues being examined in the review process have arisen from stakeholder feedback, raised by Regulatory Authorities, with some of the issues being carried forward from the 2014 NQA Review to be reconsidered by this review process. Additionally, an issues paper prepared to support the 2019 review seeks to support, and invite comment on, other significant issues for approved providers, educators, families and the community that aren’t explicitly covered elsewhere. 

The following links to the surveys for feedback will close on 30 June 2019:

• A 43 question survey tailored for educators

• A survey, also with 43 questions, designed for service providers

• A survey for families and communities 

Following the closure of the consultation period, the review will move to its second phase – Government development of options – which will run until December 2019. In 2020, the third phase – consultation on options – will occur, before implementation of agreed changes arising from the review and consultation, expected to be delivered between 2021 and 2022. 

For further information on the NQF Review, including frequently asked questions, please see here.