ACA NSW welcomes Independent Regulatory Authority, urges focus on child safety and sector collaboration

The Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW has welcomed the New South Wales Government’s decision to establish an Independent Regulatory Authority for early childhood education and care (ECEC), describing the move as a long-overdue opportunity to reset regulatory oversight and strengthen child safety outcomes.

The change follows the release of the 166-page Wheeler Report, the first independent analysis of the NSW Regulatory Authority. Commissioned by the Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning, the Hon Prue Car MP, the review responds to years of sector concern, with ACA NSW highlighting that NSW has recorded more breaches and non-compliances than all other Australian jurisdictions combined over the past five years.

ACA NSW CEO Chiang Lim said that while the new authority’s independence and direct accountability to the Minister are welcome developments, its effectiveness will depend on the implementation of systemic change.

“The new entity must learn from past failures and be equipped with the right personnel, objective skillsets and a genuinely collaborative approach with providers. Without these, the same issues will persist,” Mr Lim said.

In particular, ACA NSW is calling on the NSW Government to ensure that the restructured regulatory body:

• prioritises higher-order issues, particularly those involving child safety concerns; and
• maintains complete transparency with approved providers regarding their services.

The Alliance has also questioned why the existing NSW Regulatory Authority has not more proactively exercised its extensive powers under the Education and Care Services National Law. These powers include the ability to amend or suspend provider and service approvals, impose conditions, and take immediate action where services pose an unacceptable risk to children’s safety, health or wellbeing.

Despite having access to the largest data pool of breach and non-compliance information nationally, the NSW authority has been criticised for a perceived lack of enforcement in cases involving repeated or serious incidents.

To ensure the Wheeler Report’s 12 recommendations are implemented in a way that reflects frontline realities, ACA NSW has announced it will host a series of “town hall” consultations with its members. Sector feedback will be compiled and submitted to the NSW Government by 30 November 2025.

More information, including the full media release and recommendations, is available here.