If you are concerned about the quality or compliance of an early childhood education and care service, you should first raise your concern directly with the service. If you are not satisfied with their response, you cannot raise it directly with them, or it is a critical matter, you can make a complaint to the Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (Regulatory Authority).
What complaints we can investigate
We can only investigate complaints that relate to the legal requirements of the
Education and Care Services National Law (National Law) or the
Education and Care Services Act 2013 (ECS Act). This includes complaints about educator qualifications, educator-to-child ratios, children's supervision, interactions with children and other matters that impact on the safety, health and wellbeing of children at the service.
If the matter does not relate to the legal requirements of the National Law or ECS Act, it is considered out of regulatory scope, and
we cannot investigate. For a list of commonly raised out of scope topics and the organisations that may be able to assist, see
who to contact if we cannot investigate.
If your complaint relates to events that did not happen recently, for example in previous years, our ability to investigate may be limited. This may be because the person is no longer employed by or involved with the service, or witnesses are no longer available to assist the Regulatory Authority with inquiries.
Who to contact if we cannot investigate
We cannot investigate matters that are out of our regulatory scope. Below is a list of common topics that are related to education and care services but are outside of our remit. The organisations responsible for each topic may be able to assist—we encourage you to review the content on their websites and contact them directly. This is not an exhaustive list.
Blue cards
Contact
Blue Card Services for complaints or enquiries about obtaining working with children checks (blue cards).
Court orders
The Regulatory Authority does not assess court orders. Contact the
approved provider of your service in relation to any concerns about a court order. They must keep information about court orders at the service—this is particularly relevant when the service must determine if a parent is authorised to collect their child, receive information about their child or attend the service.
You should seek independent legal advice or family dispute resolution assistance (e.g. a
family relationship centre, family law service, family dispute resolution service, or
family court) for concerns or disputes about compliance with relevant court order matters relating to your child, including disputes between parents or caregivers.
Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
Contact the Australian Government
Services Australia for help with complaints about the CCS. The Australian Government Department of Education website contains useful information about CCS.
Disability
All education and care services must comply with the
Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Contact the
Australian Human Rights Commission if your complaint relates to discrimination based on disability.
The
Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) provides early childhood education and care-specific resources regarding obligations under the
Disability Discrimination Act.
Discrimination
Contact the approved provider of your service in the first instance for concerns about discrimination in relation to enrolment.
If you are not satisfied with their response, or need information about your rights under the
Anti-Discrimination Act 1991, the
Queensland Human Rights Commission can help with complaints about discrimination, sexual harassment, vilification, victimisation and other contraventions of the Act.
Disputes between employees and employers
Contact the
Fair Work Commission for help resolving disputes in the workplace, including eligibility for claims of unfair dismissal.
Enrolments and waiting lists
Contact the approved provider of your service for complaints relating to enrolments or waiting lists. They are responsible for the operational decisions of the service.
Facebook or other social media
Contact the approved provider of your service for complaints about posts on Facebook or other social media accounts. They are responsible for the service’s policies and procedures including a staff code of conduct. We cannot legally direct or request someone to remove a post from their social media page.
Family issues
Contact
Regional Intake Services to report concerns that a child in your community is experiencing harm, or is at risk of experiencing harm.
Fees
Under the National Law, services must have a written policy for the payment of fees, provide a statement of fees for families, and give parents at least 14 days notice of any changes that affect the charge, collection or statement of fees. These matters can be investigated by the Regulatory Authority.
For concerns about other fee-related matters, including how fees are set, determined and collected (e.g. the amount, frequency, method or timing of fees and fee increases), or how parents are notified of changes, contact the approved provider of the service.
If your complaint is about your consumer rights, contact the
Office of Fair Trading.
You may wish to seek independent legal advice in relation to your complaint.
Immunisation
Contact the approved provider of your service about childcare immunisation requirements within your service, and visit the
Queensland Health website for more information about vaccination legislation for early childhood education and care services.
Interstate education and care services
Contact the regulatory authority in the state or territory in which the service operates to make a complaint about services operating outside Queensland.
Kindergarten funding
Email the Kindy Funding team at
kindyfunding@qed.qld.gov.au for concerns or matters relating to funding being provided to approved kindergarten programs, and visit the
approved kindergarten programs page for information about these programs.
More information is available if you have concerns related to
disability and inclusion support. Visit the
Kindergarten Inclusion Support Scheme and the
Kindergarten Inclusion Service pages for further support.
Sign in/sign out systems
Under the
National Regulations, the approved provider must keep attendance records including the child's full name, date and time of arrival and departure, signed by either the person delivering or collecting the child, the nominated supervisor or the educator at the service.
Contact the approved provider of your service for complaints relating to methods and systems for signing in and signing out (e.g. the use of a tablet or pin code).
Staff uniforms
Contact the approved provider of your service for complaints relating to the provision and wearing of staff uniforms.
Unregulated services
Unregulated services include care provided by nannies, babysitters, hotels, resorts, shopping centres, sporting facilities, and (if operating for less than 4 weeks a year) vacation care. Contact the service operator for complaints about these services.
Adjunct care is defined under the ECS Act, but does not require departmental approval. Read the department’s
adjunct care fact sheet.
Contact the
Office of Fair Trading for assistance with complaints about consumer rights.
You may wish to seek independent legal advice in relation to your complaint.
Wages or employee entitlements
Contact the
Fair Work Ombudsman for advice or complaints about wages or employee entitlements.
Work health and safety
Contact
Work Safe QLD for complaints about work health and safety matters.
Workplace bullying
Contact the approved provider of your service or the Fair Work Ombudsman for complaints or concerns about workplace bullying.
How to make a complaint
Contact your nearest
regional office by phone or by emailing a completed
complaint form.
Provide a clear and concise description of the matter you are complaining about, including the service name and (at a minimum) relevant dates, times and names of people involved. Without this minimum information, we may be limited in our ability to investigate.
You do not need to use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to make a good complaint. However if you do, please use the
QLD Ombudsman’s guidance on using AI tools for complaints.
If you wish to remain anonymous, please note this during your phone call or on the complaint form. We will respect your wish to remain anonymous, but please be aware that your identity may become clear to the subject of the complaint because of its nature, or if we need to take action to protect children.
Accessibility information
If you need an interpreter, phone 13 QGOV (13 74 68).
If you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment:
- TTY users phone 133 677, then ask for the nearest regional office of the department. Call charges and higher rates from mobile phones will apply.
- Speak-and-listen users phone 1300 555 727, then ask for the nearest regional office of the department. Call charges will apply and higher rates from mobile phones will apply.
- Internet relay users connect to the
National Relay Service, then ask for the nearest regional office of the department.
What to expect from the process
We manage complaints in line with the
Early Childhood Education and Care Complaints Management Policy (PDF, 327KB). This may involve:
- (if out of regulatory scope) directing you to organisations that can assist you (such as the ones identified above)
- requesting further information from you
- referring the complaint (including your name, personal information and complaint details) to another agency (e.g. Queensland Police Service; Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety, Blue Card Services)
- conducting an
investigation
- raising the complaint with the service, educator or person, to ensure they can fully respond to the complaint and have an opportunity to be heard
- taking any action required.
Most complaints are finalised within 30 days—we will let you know if there is a delay. We deal with all complaints as quickly as possible, but more complex or serious complaints can take longer to investigate.
Once we reach a decision and take any action required, we will let you know of the outcome. Read more about the actions we can take on our investigations page, linked above.
What if I am not happy with the investigation or outcome of my complaint?
Discuss the issue with the authorised officer who managed your complaint—the outcome letter you receive will include their contact details.
If you are still dissatisfied, you may email us a request for internal review of your complaint to
regulation@qed.qld.gov.au, with your reasoning and any relevant information we should consider.
If you remain dissatisfied, you may contact an external agency such as the
Queensland Ombudsman, or seek independent legal advice.
Complaints about the actions or conduct of the department and/or its staff are managed in line with its customer complaints policy. Read more about the
customer complaints management procedure.
Help and support
Authorised officers are available to answer your questions or concerns about the investigation of complaints and the delivery of early childhood education and care. Phone your nearest regional office.