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 authorised officer who conducted the visit to clarify anything you are unsure of in the report
- identify any factual inaccuracy or critical omission.
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 section of the
guide to the National Quality Framework (the guide), as a self-reflective tool to identify aspects of practice relevant to each element/standard/quality area.
In particular consider:
-
your service's history of compliance—to ensure you understand the impact it may have on your service's quality rating
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element descriptors and exceeding themes—to help determine where your practice sits in relation to the National Quality Standard
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meeting practice guidance for each of the National Quality Standards—learn more about the types of practice an authorised officer is looking for in your service and how the element or standard could be assessed
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exceeding themes—use the tailored exceeding reflective questions at the end of each Standard in the guide, to determine how your service practice aligns to the exceeding themes
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the questions used by authorised officers to establish exceeding NQS practice in the guide—ensure any submissions you provide are supported by factual evidence that demonstrates 'yes' to each of the questions
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how ratings are calculated—how evidence from the assessment and rating visit informs the rating of each standard, quality area and then determines the overall rating. For further information, visit the
ACECQA website.
- Use this checklist when drafting feedback to ensure it is effective. Feedback should be:
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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 authorised 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.
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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'. Information on what is expected to achieve a rating of exceeding NQS for any Standard is provided throughout the guide
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supported by relevant evidence—evidence can include the following examples, which must clearly and easily link to the factual statements made
- 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
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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.
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 authorised 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 any feedback provided.
Help and support
View an
example assessment and rating feedback that gives guidance on how to provide clear and concise feedback.
If you have further questions about providing effective feedback, please
contact your regional office.