This includes approved education and care services operating under the
National Quality Framework (NQF), such as family day care, kindergarten, long day care and outside school hours care. The ECRA also regulates a smaller number of approved services operating under the
Education and Care Services Act 2013 (QLD) (ECS Act).
In Queensland, the regulatory authority is the Director-General as the Chief Executive of the Department of Education. The functions and powers of the Director-General as regulatory authority are delegated to positions within the Early Childhood Regulatory Authority which operates across the department’s central and regional offices.
While the ECRA collaborates with different areas of the Department of Education, especially within the Early Childhood division, it is responsible for making independent decisions under the NQF and ECS Act and for carrying out its functions in a way that is fair, transparent and without bias at all times.
Read more about the department’s other
early childhood responsibilities.
Early Childhood Regulatory Authority responsibilities
The ECRA undertakes activities to uphold the principles and achieve the
objectives of the NQF and ECS Act. There are ECRA functions under the NQF and the ECS Act. The ECRA supports approved providers of education and care services to meet their legal responsibilities by providing information and advice, but also takes regulatory action as necessary when requirements are not met.
The ECRA takes a risk-based approach to regulation. Read more about
regulating for quality.
The ECRA engages with a range of stakeholders to achieve the objectives of the NQF and ECS Act. Key partners in driving continuous improvement in service quality and compliance include approved providers, education and care peak bodies and the
Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).
Read more about the
NQF, including the
Education and Care Services National Law (Queensland),
Education and Care Services National Regulations and the
National Quality Standard.
Functions of the Early Childhood Regulatory Authority
The functions of the ECRA include:
- administering the NQF and ECS Act
- deciding provider and service approvals and other applications made to the ECRA
- conducting quality assessment and rating in all education and care services approved under the NQF, using the National Quality Standard
- monitoring and enforcing compliance and investigating serious incidents and complaints
- educating and informing the sector
- collecting information, reviewing and reporting.
Access the
latest data about the education and care sector and the work of the ECRA. ACECQA also provides a quarterly national overview of the sector in its
NQF Snapshots.