Regulatory Officer Recruitment and Training

The Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care emphasised the importance of the ESB’s role as a regulator, and we have accordingly sharpened the focus of our assessment and rating of services. 

Historically, Authorised Officers who carried out this work were recruited with a focus on their knowledge of the National Quality Framework and the early childhood education and care sector.   

Our revised Regulatory Officer roles require, in addition to this knowledge, a greater understanding of the regulatory environment and use of key regulatory concepts and frameworks to improve outcomes.

It is our goal to have a multi-disciplinary team of Regulatory Officers who have a background in early childhood, regulatory experience or experience in administrative law decision making. This ensures that our Regulatory Officers can work together in undertaking our legislative functions, with shared knowledge of the sector and key regulatory concepts. 

So far this year, we have recruited nine new staff with a variety of skills and experience, including in assessing quality and compliance across a number of other local, state and federal government agencies.

We will appoint another 10 Regulatory Officers in the coming months, to bring our total team to 26. This will support us to meet the requirements of the Royal Commission, including clearing the backlog of services rated under the 2012 National Quality Standards, and assessing and rating services every three years.

To support our new Regulatory Officers, we have designed and implemented a 14-week Early Childhood Services Regulatory Induction Program, which includes an overview of the sector, the National Quality Framework and training from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) and Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). 

At times, Authorised Officers and now Regulatory Officers are asked by Approved Providers or Service staff for details of their background and experience. Be assured that each Regulatory Officer has the required training and regulatory experience needed to perform the assessment and rating function. 

We encourage Approved Providers and Services to engage in the process of providing feedback, either through the draft assessment and rating report or through our Complaints and Feedback process. 

Further information on recruitment for these roles is available at: ASO5 Regulatory Officer (Multiple positions) (iworkfor.sa.gov.au)