The broad objective of the CCQA is to ensure that children in care have stimulating, positive experiences and interactions that will foster all aspects of their development and promote quality care for all children in approved Australian child care services.
The aim of the CCQA is to provide a framework for reviewing, measuring and improving the quality of the work being done by approved child care providers. CCQA focuses on quality outcomes for children. It encompasses processes of self-study and continuing improvement against principles of quality care.
The CCQA framework:
- improves outcomes for children;
- improves the accountability of child care to the public; and
- better equips services to cater for children's individual needs.
To be eligible for approval for Child Care Benefit purposes, centre based Long Day Care (LDC) and Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) services and Family Day Care (FDC) schemes must register for and satisfactorily participate in CCQA.
- Information on quality assurance and accreditation for families with children in child care - PDF
(291.0 KB)
State and Territory Governments have the prime responsibility of family support, child welfare, regulations and licensing.
CCQA is designed to build on and complement State and Territory Government licensing regulations (where they exist), which generally provide a minimum standard of operation for services.
The regulations cover a range of factors including space, equipment, number of staff and their qualifications, number and ages of children. Not all states and territories have comprehensive regulations in place.
Further information
For more details go to the relevant State or Territory Government’s website (eg http://www.nsw.gov.au/ 
or www.vic.gov.au )
CCQA has an administrative framework comprising Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) through the Office of Early Childhood Education and Child Care (OECECC), the National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC) and the Accreditation Decisions Review Committee (ADRC).
The CCQA Framework comprises three core partners with interlinking and individual responsibility for the day to day management, monitoring and implementation of the individual CCQA systems and those services, structures and customers that deliver and use quality child care in Australia.
OECECC consults with peak bodies and child care services on major policy and program development in relation to child care.
The Child Care Quality Branch of OECECC manages the administration of the CCQA Framework. It funds and has contracts with the NCAC and the ADRC.
OECECC also has legislative responsibilities for managing the compliance of child care services with the CCQA. Services that are not satisfactorily participating in CCQA are reported by the NCAC to OECECC. These services may be sanctioned by the Government. Sanctions could include requiring services to meet additional conditions, or suspension or cancellation of approval for Child Care Benefit purposes.
DEEWR also manages child care service’s compliance with their other responsibilities under family assistance legislation.
Further information
The NCAC is a ministerially appointed body responsible for the implementation and administration of the Australian Government’s Child Care Quality Assurance (CCQA) systems for child care services across Australia. All approved long day care centres, family day care schemes and outside school hours care services regardless of the type of operator, are required to register and satisfactorily participate in Quality Assurance. The NCAC is an association incorporated under NSW legislation, and is authorised to operate in all other states and territories of Australia.
The CCQA systems operate on a five step process which measures the quality of care provided by the service and identifies areas for ongoing quality improvement. The ultimate aim of these CCQA systems for child care services is to promote and ensure quality outcomes for children.
NCAC aims to:
- support continuous improvement in the quality of child care provided for children in Australia;
- provide child care providers and families with advice and support relating to the quality of child care; and
- advocate for children and the provision of high quality child care.
Corporate governance of the NCAC is exercised by a ministerially appointed board, which includes a Chairperson and seven members. The NCAC Board appoints the Chief Executive Officer who manages NCAC operations and staff. The NCAC Board meets six to eight times a year.
Further Information
The ADRC is a ministerially appointed body, independent of the NCAC, responsible for reviewing Accreditation Decisions made by the NCAC.
Child care services that are seeking a review of their Accreditation Decision may apply to the ADRC. This includes services that have been Accredited but that may want to appeal their ratings.
Reviews undertaken by the ADRC result in recommendations for consideration and determination by the NCAC. The ADRC cannot overturn an NCAC Accreditation Decision.
Further Information
The Inclusion and Professional Support Program
The Inclusion and Professional Support Program (IPSP) is an Australian Government funded program currently delivered by state and territory based Professional Support Coordinators (PSCs), Indigenous Professional Support Units (IPSUs) and Inclusion Support Agencies (ISAs). Through this program, eligible child care services have access to affordable support, advice, resources and training. The IPSP complements the CCQA Framework by providing access to up to date information to assist child care services to achieve accreditation and to maintain a high level of quality child care.
Once a service has been reported on two occasions by the NCAC for failing to gain accreditation, the NCAC refers the service to a PSC for ongoing support and advice. The service is required to access support from a PSC to ensure that it meets CCQA standards following its subsequent cycle through the relevant CCQA system.
For further information
If you consider your child care service is not providing quality child care you can:
- Call the National Childcare Accreditation Council on 1300 136 554, or
- Write to:
The Chief Executive Officer
National Childcare Accreditation Council
Level 3, 418a Elizabeth Street
SURRY HILLS NSW 2010
If you wish to report issues relating to the licensing of the child care service, for example, health and safety issues, the adequacy of space and equipment in the centre or staff to child ratios you will need to contact the State or Territory Government Department responsible for child care licensing and regulations.
The Australian Government and state and territory governments have jointly developed national standards for child care services. These standards express a national view about the level of care all Australians should expect to find in the different kinds of child care service available to them.
National standards prescribe the minimum standard necessary to ensure that child care provides a safe, nurturing and developmental experience for children. The standards address the facilities, health and safety, programs and administration, and the suitability of the people providing the child care services.
There is a high degree of consistency in the standards across the three service types. This is because many standards are fundamental to the provision of quality service for children of any age, provided in any setting (such as a purpose-built child care centre, a family day care home or school facility). Certain core standards are common to LDC, FDC and OSHC services.
Other standards are specific to a particular service type and are influenced by the age of the children attending the service, the service's hours of operation, or the type of facilities in which the service is provided.
Different approaches are taken by states and territories in ensuring that the standards as defined are implemented in all services, where required. These include incorporation of the standards into regulations, service agreements, funding contracts, or industry-agreed standards of operation.
It is recognised that providing high quality child care services involves much more than meeting minimum standards. Support, explanatory information and availability of resource material to assist service providers to implement the standards are important, as are training and a range of other quality assurance and improvement practices.
In 2007, the Children’s Services Sub-Committee undertook a review of the current approach to setting National Standards in child care to ensure they reflect contemporary evidence as well as include strategies to improve national alignment between evidence, service standards and practice. The report, A review of the approach to setting national standards and assuring the quality of care in Australian child care services was released in July 2007.
- “A review of the approach to setting national standards and assuring the quality of care in Australian child care services” PDF (1.4 MB) | RTF
(2.6 MB)
The Australian Government supports the review of National Standards in child care as this would assist in the achievement of regulation consistency in all jurisdictions in key areas such as safety, qualifications and staff:child ratios, whilst still allowing states and territories to adopt higher standards in regulations to reflect their specific child care needs and environment.
- National Standards for Outside School Hours Care PDF (232.7 KB) | RTF (142.7 KB)
- National Standards for Family Day Care PDF (321.5 KB) | RTF (247.9 KB)
- National Standards for centre based Long Day Care PDF (99.8 KB) | RTF (312.5 KB)
The Government is committed to improving quality in early childhood education and care.
This is a key part of the broader agenda for Early Childhood Development which brings together the essential requirements of quality in child care and preschool settings and includes development of an Early Years Development Framework and guidelines to promote healthy eating and physical activity.
In collaboration with the states and territories, the Australian Government is working through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to implement stronger quality standards for all early childhood settings.
Preliminary work was undertaken in relation to the streamlining of the Child Care Quality Assurance systems for Long Day Care, Family Day Care and Outside School Hours Care and many people across the child care sector contributed to that process. While the agenda for reform now is much broader, the contribution that was provided during the previous process was extremely valuable and will feed into the work now underway.
The Government has also committed to introduce a quality rating system to drive continuous improvement in quality child care and preschool and enhance parents’ access to information about their early childhood education and care options.
The government will consult with the sector, families and child care experts during the development of this new system. Please continue to access the website for further updates and information about opportunities to provide input.