Roles and responsibilities

This page provides information for approved providers of education and care services captured under the National Quality Framework and the Education and Care Services Act 2013 (ECS Act).

Roles and responsibilities—NQF services

Early childhood education and care services must meet a range of staffing requirements under the National Quality Framework (NQF). The NQF sets out the minimum qualification and educator to child ratio requirements for children's education and care services. This includes the number and type of roles required in a service.

Nominated supervisor

As part of an application for service approval, approved providers must identify the nominated supervisor/s (PDF, 127KB) for the service.

Educational leader

Approved providers must designate, in writing, an educational leader (PDF, 2.2MB) at the service.

The role of the educational leader is to:

• collaborate with educators and provide curriculum direction and guidance
• support educators to effectively implement the cycle of planning to enhance programs and practices
• lead the development and implementation of an effective educational program in the service
• ensure children's learning and development are guided by the learning outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework and/or the Framework for School Age Care or other approved learning frameworks.
  

Family day care coordinators

Approved providers of family day care services must ensure there are sufficient coordinators available at any time the service is being offered.

For the purposes of section 163(1) of the National Law, all family day care services with service approvals issued after October 2017 require a minimum ratio of one full-time equivalent family day care coordinator for every 15 family day care educators for the first 12 months of service operation (regulation 123A) of the National Regulations.

Transitional provisions

Some transitional provisions (PDF, 139KB) in the Education and Care Services National Regulations relating to staffing and qualifications arrangements which were due to end before the end of 2019 have been extended to 2022.

Educators who hold the following combination of qualifications will be recognised as ECTs by ACECQA for 2 more years:

• a primary teaching qualification that includes at least a focus on children aged 5 to 8 (e.g. a qualification with a focus on children aged 3 to 8 or 5 to 12)
• teacher registration in Australia (known as ‘accreditation’ in New South Wales)
• an ACECQA-approved diploma-level (or higher) education and care qualification.

For services in remote and very remote areas:

• educators who have been continuously employed by the same centre-based service for at least 15 years prior to the NQF will continue to be included in the educator-to-child ratios
• centre-based services will still be able to access an ECT via information communication technology (ICT).

Working with children check

Approved providers must also ensure that individuals operating or working in their service have undertaken a working with children check.

In Queensland, this check or card is commonly referred to as a blue card or an exemption card for teachers or police officers.

The Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000 (Qld) is administered by Blue Card Services, Department of Justice and Attorney-General. A 'No Card, No Start' law applied from 31 August 2020. Under the policy all individuals working with children must have a blue card before they start child-related work.

Before 31 August 2020, paid employees were able to start working with children while their blue card application was being processed. It is no longer sufficient for individuals to have submitted an application for a blue card—they must hold their blue card before they start work.

From 1 September 2020, for all types of regulated early childhood education and care services (including stand-alone care), operators, paid employees, volunteers and adult residents of home-based care must hold a current blue card or a positive exemption notice before they commence providing care.

Related information

Policies, procedures and operational requirements resources
Access resources, forms and fact sheets related to operating a service, including staffing requirements.

Roles and qualifications
Learn about the qualifications required for each type of role in an early childhood education and care service.

Roles and responsibilities—ECS Act services

Approved providers

An approved provider must conduct an approved service in a way that has sufficient regard to the guiding principles of the ECS Act and ensures the safety, health and wellbeing of children educated and care for by the service.

Nominee

All services must have a nominee to act as the point of contact with the department. The nominee is appointed by the approved provider.

Approved providers must provide the name and contact details of the nominee for each approved service to the department in writing. This includes changes to nominee contact details.

Learn more about: Nominee notification form (PDF, 342KB).

Supervisor

An approved provider must appoint a supervisor.
A supervisor must:

• be present 75% of the time and most of the time during peak care periods if operating for less than 10 hours per day or 7.5 hours each day and as much as possible during peak care periods if operating for more than 10 hours per day (this does not apply to school age services or a service with a capacity of not more than 30 children for any part of the day)
• ensure children are adequately supervised, protected, educated and cared for
  
• ensure educator-to-child ratios and qualification requirements are met
• prepare and maintain policies
• help communication between staff and parents.

There is no limit to the number of supervisors in a service.

Staff

Staff required to meet educator-to-child ratios must be at least 18 years old and hold (or be actively working towards) an approved qualification.