As part of the assessment and rating process, approved providers are sent a draft report to review and consider the proposed ratings.
Feedback on the report can be submitted if the approved provider identifies a
factual inaccuracy or critical omission.
This may include when an approved provider:
- disagrees with the rating based on the evidence described
- has additional information about the evidence referred to in the draft report.
Approved providers have 10 working days from receiving the draft report to provide written feedback.
Before deciding to provide feedback on the draft assessment and rating report:
- read the draft report carefully
- contact the Regulatory Officer who conducted the visit to clarify anything you are unsure of in the report
- identify any factual inaccuracy or critical omission.
If feedback is not provided by this deadline, the report will be finalised.
Preparing feedback
Approved providers who decide to provide feedback should follow these steps when preparing their submission.
Refer to the National Quality Standard and Assessment and Rating chapter of the
Guide to the National Quality Framework (the guide).
In particular consider:
-
element descriptors and exceeding themes—determine where your practice sits in relation to the National Quality Standard
-
meeting and exceeding practice guidance for the 7 quality areas—learn more about the types of practice a regulatory officer is looking for in your service and how the element or standard could be assessed. Use the guide as a self-reflective tool to identify aspects of practice in your feedback
-
how ratings are calculated—read how evidence from the assessment and rating visit informs the rating of each standard and quality area and determines the overall rating.
Use this checklist when drafting feedback to ensure it is effective. Feedback should be:
-
succinct
- your evidence should be brief and to the point
- aim for relevance, not volume
- submitting too much information may make it difficult for the Regulatory Officer to find relevant facts
- if excessive documentation is provided, it will only be possible for a sample to be reviewed
- clearly reference the element or standard you are wanting a change in rating
-
based on factual statements—statements should
- show how the quality of your service differs from what was recorded in the report
- describe clearly how your service ‘met’ an element or demonstrated ‘exceeding’ practice. All 3 exceeding themes must be demonstrated for a standard to be rated 'exceeding'
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supported by relevant evidence—evidence can include
- meaningful photographs showing activities or the physical environment
- records, for example, a receipt for building maintenance
- documentation of learning programs
- information given to families about the service or individual children
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focus on current practice—feedback should not address what the service intends to do as a result of the assessment visit
-
address the evidence in the report—feedback should not
- address suggestions for continuous quality improvement (contained in the Quality Improvement Plan notes)
- include compliments or complaints about the overall assessment and the rating process, including the visit. These can be provided separately to your
local regional office.
Example assessment and rating feedback—Review the dos and don’ts of providing feedback.
Submitting feedback
Submit feedback via the
National Quality Agenda Information Technology System (NQAITS). Alternatively, you can download the
Assessment and Rating Draft Report Feedback template (DOCX, 125KB) from the ACECQA website and email the completed form to your
local regional office.
Feedback assessment
The regulatory officer who conducted the assessment visit will consider the feedback. It will be evaluated against observations and discussions that occurred during the visit, and documentation that was sighted at the service.
In some cases, the information and evidence provided in the feedback may support a change to a service rating.
The final assessment and rating report will acknowledge and address feedback provided.
See the
example assessment and rating feedback.