The latest quarterly data on the regulation of Early Childhood Education and Care and Child Care in Tasmania.
Early Childhood Outcomes and Regulation regulates early childhood education and care (ECEC) and child care in Tasmania under two legislative frameworks.
- The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care, including the National Law and National Regulations.
- The Child Care Act (Tasmania) 2001 and supporting Licensing Standards.
Publishing regulatory data provides transparency around the Regulatory Authority functions of the Education and Care Unit and encourages voluntary compliance and improved service quality by the early childhood education and care sector.
Data below details regulatory activity.
Service and provider approvals
Service and provider approvals
Service and provider approvals
All early childhood education and care providers and services and child care services must be approved to operate. Early childhood providers and services approved to operate under the National Quality Framework (NQF) are listed on the National registers | ACECQA for education and care providers and services on the Tasmanian Licensed Child Care Services Register.
The table below shows the number of approved providers and services in Tasmania.
| Providers and services approved to operate in Tasmania | Approved as of 30 September 2025 |
|---|---|
| Education and care providers approved to operate under the NQF | 67 |
| Education and care services approved to operate under the NQF | 243 |
| Child care services licensed to operate under the Child Care Act | 19 |
New approvals
Applications for provider and service approval must be assessed and considered against legislative requirements. Early Childhood Outcomes and Regulation exercise regulatory authority powers and functions include considering applications for provider and service approval.
Please note, not all applications result in an approval.
The table below shows the number of applications for provider or service approval approved in Tasmania.
| Regulatory data | Quarter ending 30 June 2025 | Quarter ending 30 September 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Education and care providers approved to operate under the NQF | 0 | 1 |
| Education and care services approved to operate under the NQF | 2 | 0 |
| Child care services licensed to operate under the Child Care Act | 0 | 1 |
Service monitoring
National Quality Framework (NQF) Service visits
Authorised Officers conduct visits to monitor quality and compliance with legislative requirements. Monitoring visits are typically unannounced.
| Regulatory data | Quarter ending 30 June 2025 | Quarter ending 30 September 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment and rating | 13 | 14 |
| Compliance and monitoring | 68 | 90 |
| Total service visits | 81 | 104 |
Notifications and complaints
Notifications and complaints made to services and providers
Approved providers are required to notify the Regulatory Authority (section 174 of the National Law) of a range of serious incidents (defined by regulation 12 of the National Regulations) and circumstances at an education and care service, including complaints received by the service or provider.
| Regulatory data | Quarter ending 30 June 2025 | Quarter ending 30 September 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Complaint | 27 | 47 |
| Incident | 206 | 199 |
Direct complaints to the Regulatory Authority
The Regulatory Authority also receives complaints directly from complainants, such as members of the community and families, some of these will relate to the same incidents reported by approved providers.
| Regulatory data | Quarter ending 30 June 2025 | Quarter ending 30 September 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Direct complaint | 13 | 17 |
Breaches of the Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations
Total breaches
The Regulatory Authority actively monitors provider and services and investigates and responds to allegations of non-compliance when it receives intelligence (including through notifications, complaints or service visits) about possible breaches of the legislation.
| Regulatory data | Quarter ending 30 June 2025 | Quarter ending 30 September 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmed | 154 | 116 |
| Not confirmed | 103 | 113 |
Sections of the National Law with the highest number of confirmed breaches
Confirmed breaches are recorded as a result of compliance and enforcement activity undertaken by the Regulatory Authority. This summary identifies the five sections of the National Law with the highest number of confirmed breaches for the reporting period. Regulatory data lists these sections in order, with 1 indicating the section with the highest number of confirmed breaches.
| Rank by number of confirmed breaches | Quarter ending 30 June 2025 | Quarter ending 30 September 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Section 165 – Offence to inadequately supervise children | Section 165 – Offence to inadequately supervise children |
| 2 | Section 167 – Offence relating to protection of children from harm and hazards | Section 167 – Offence relating to protection of children from harm and hazards |
| 3 | Section 166 – Offence to use inappropriate discipline | Section 169 – Offence relating to staffing arrangements |
| 4 | Section 169 – Offence relating to staffing arrangements | Section 174 – Offence to notify certain information to Regulatory Authority |
| 5 | Section 174 – Offence to notify certain information to Regulatory Authority | Section 166 – Offence to use inappropriate discipline |
National Regulations with the highest number of confirmed breaches
Confirmed breaches are recorded as a result of compliance and enforcement activity undertaken by the Regulatory Authority. This summary identifies the five Regulations with the highest number of confirmed breaches for the reporting period. Regulatory data lists these Regulations in order, with 1 indicating the highest number. In the event that multiple Regulations have an equal number of confirmed breaches, all will be listed.
| Rank by number of confirmed breaches | Quarter ending 30 June 2025 | Quarter ending 30 September 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Regulation 99 – Children leaving the education and care service premises | Regulation 99 – Children leaving the education and care service premises |
| 2 | Regulation 97 – Emergency and evacuation procedures | Regulation 97 – Emergency and evacuation procedures |
| 3 | Regulation 77 – Health, hygiene and safe food practices | Regulation 77 – Health, hygiene and safe food practices |
| 4 | Regulation 80 – Weekly menu | Regulation 87 – Incident, injury, trauma and illness record |
| 5 | Regulation 107 – Space requirements—indoor space | Regulation 56 – Review and revision of quality improvement plans Regulation 72 – Offences in relation to giving false or misleading statements about ratings Regulation 75 – Information about educational program to be kept available Regulation 80 – Weekly menu Regulation 86 – Notification to parents of incident, injury, trauma and illness |
Compliance actions
Compliance action taken
Statutory sanctions including but not limited to Compliance Directions, Compliance Notices, Conditions on Service Approval can be applied in response to non-compliance where further enforcement action is deemed necessary to support the health, safety and wellbeing of children attending a service.
| Regulatory data | Quarter ending 30 June 2025 | Quarter ending 30 September 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance notice | 1 | 0 |
| Prohibition notice | 1 | 1 |
| Emergency action notice | 0 | 0 |
| Approval amended | 1 | 0 |
Assessment and Rating
Early Childhood Outcomes and Regulation perform the functions of the Tasmanian Regulatory Authority, including ensuring education and care services are assessed against the National Quality Standard. Services that undergo a full assessment and rating are given a rating for each of the 7 quality areas and an overall rating based on these results. Services that undergo a partial reassessment are assessed against some of the standards or quality areas of the NQS.
Assessment and Rating visits
| Assessment and Rating visits | Quarter ending 30 June 2025 | Quarter ending 30 September 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Total Assessment and Rating visits | 13 | 14 |
Published Quality Ratings by Rating
| Quality Rating | Number of services with published rating as of 30 September 2025 | Percentage of services with published rating as of 30 September 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Exceeding the NQS | 44 | 20.1% |
| Meeting the NQS | 137 | 62.6% |
| Working Towards the NQS | 38 | 17.4% |
| Significant Improvement Required | 0 | 0% |
| TOTAL | 219 | 90% |
NQS Elements with the highest number of Not Met ratings
The Regulatory Authority monitor which NQS elements have the highest number of Not Met ratings on both an annual and quarterly basis. The table below provides the total for the previous financial year alongside quarterly data to enable comparison.
| Elements most frequently rated Not Met over the past 12 months | Quarter ending 30 June 2025 | Last financial year 1 July 2024 – 30 June 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1.2 (element) | 0 | 5 |
| 1.3.1 (element) | 1 | 4 |
| 2.2.1 (element) | 0 | 4 |
NQS Standards with the highest number of Exceeding ratings
The Regulatory Authority monitor which NQS standards have the highest number of Exceeding ratings on both an annual and quarterly basis. The table below provides the total for the previous financial year alongside quarterly data to enable comparison.
| Standards most frequently rated Exceeding | Quarter ending 30 June 2025 | Last financial year 1 July 2024 – 30 June 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 5.1 (standard) | 3 | 10 |
| 2.1 (standard) | 4 | 7 |