Our approach to compliance monitoring
We monitor compliance with legislative requirements to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of children attending education and care services. Information and intelligence gathered from monitoring is used to identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for continuous improvement in the delivery of quality services and to understand broader regulatory trends and issues.
Since January 2023, our regulatory priorities have been:
- adequate supervision
- appropriate discipline
- medical management
- improved reporting of serious incidents.
Throughout 2024-25, our Compliance and Investigations team are undertaking unscheduled regulatory activities at various education and care services, which align with our regulatory target of monitoring against our regulatory priorities (proactive monitoring), in addition to proactive monitoring activities that stem from notifications of incidents or complaints (reactive monitoring).
Who may receive a proactive monitoring visit?
Following the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care there are many services who have not had an assessment and rating, received a visit from the Education Standards Board (ESB), made applications to amend their service approval or notified us of serious incidents, in a long period of time.
Throughout 2024-25, we are undertaking unscheduled visits of services who have:
- not had a visit from the ESB in more than 18 months
- not made any application or notification to the ESB in more than 18 months
- not reported any serious incidents to the ESB in more than 12 months
- had a recorded breach of the National Law or National Regulations in the last 12 to 18 months in one of our regulatory priority areas, being:
- have received a Compliance Notice or an Emergency Action Notice that has been closed in the last 12 to 18 months.
Who may receive a reactive monitoring visit?
Once we receive incident notification or complaint, our office undertakes initial assessment of the matter and then may refer it to a Compliance Officer or Investigator, who are Auhtorised Officers.
Authorised Officers will then, in many cases, contact the approved provider or service to determine what further information is required to assess the matter or, dependent on the seriousness of the matter, may undertake an unscheduled visit.
What happens in an unscheduled visit?
Authorised Officers will attend the service and upon arrival introduce themselves and ask to speak to the Nominated Supervisor or Responsible Person. The Officer will show their Authorised Officer identification card and sign in using the service's specific sign in system.
The Officer will then ask the Nominated Supervisor or Responsible Person to take them on a tour of the service, while they explain the reason for their visit and start to determine what areas of the service they will need to see or staff they may need to speak with. Officers will ensure that they are not affecting ration requirements - if the Nominated Supervisor or Responsible Person who is conducting the tour with the Officer is required to be in ratio, the Office will undertake the tour and any review of the service independently.
Officers will, in most unscheduled visits:
- sight the service's:
- policies required under r168
- emergency rehearsal documentation
- risk assessments
- observe:
- supervision practices
- interactions with children
- discuss:
- adequate supervision practices
- appropriate discipline practices
- undertake a medical management audit
- review or measure play equipment
- cross reference incident reports against reports made to the ESB
- address any other current or historical issue or potential issue presented at the service.
Visits may take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, or longer dependent on any risks presented or if the Nominated Supervisor or Responsible Person is required to be in ratio.
What happens following the visit?
Before leaving the service, the Officer will provide a high-level overview of:
- areas that need further information
- areas where the service is performing well
- areas of improvement for the service.
They will provide information on what next steps may look like, which may include correspondence that confirms that no further action is required or administrative or statutory compliance action, which includes actions like compliance directions, compliance notices, emergency action notices or conditions on provider approval or service approval.