NQS ratings: check any childcare centre's rating

Childcare ratings by state

The Australian Capital Territory has the highest share of services rated Exceeding or Excellent, 44.2%, and Western Australia the lowest, 4.0%. South Australia has the highest share of services rated Working Towards, 16.3% of its rated services. Nationally, 74.8% of rated services are Meeting NQS and 1,023 services are not yet rated.

Australia includes 1 service whose register entry has no state. The 43 Queensland services we list from Queensland Government data are not on the ACECQA register and have no NQS rating in our data, so they are left out of this table. Browse rated services in each state from the state links.

The 5 NQS rating levels

A state or territory regulator gives each service a rating for each of the 7 quality areas and an overall rating based on those results (ACECQA). The overall rating is the one shown in the rating check above and on every centre page.

What Working Towards really means

A Working Towards rating means the service runs a safe program but did not meet at least one of the 40 elements in the standard. To be rated Meeting NQS, a service must meet every element in all 7 quality areas, so a single element not met is enough for Working Towards (ACECQA).

The 1,217 services rated Working Towards in our data fall short by very different margins. 375 (30.8%) are below the standard in just one quality area, 307 in two, and 535 in three or more. 38 of them are rated Exceeding in at least one other quality area. Look at the quality area ratings on the centre page: a centre that fell short only in governance paperwork is a different prospect from one below the standard in health and safety. Ask the director which elements were not met, what has changed since, and whether a reassessment is due.

The Excellent rating

The Excellent rating is awarded by ACECQA, the national authority, not by the state regulator. A service must already be rated Exceeding NQS in all 7 quality areas before it can apply (ACECQA). Services awarded it share leadership that influences practice beyond their own service, meaningful engagement with children and families, and a commitment to continuous improvement and innovation. 25 services hold it in our data: 10 in NSW, 7 in VIC, 6 in QLD, 2 in ACT.

The 7 quality areas

The National Quality Standard has 7 quality areas, 15 standards and 40 elements (ACECQA). It is a schedule to the Education and Care Services National Regulations and applies to long day care, family day care, outside school hours care and most preschools and kindergartens. Services are rated on each area, and the table shows how all rated services scored on each one.

Services are most often rated Exceeding in quality area 6, collaborative partnerships with families and communities (22.4%). They most often fall short in quality area 2, children's health and safety, where 4.6% are rated Working Towards or below.

Quality area 1: Educational program and practice

The learning program: built on an approved learning framework, centred on each child's interests and strengths, with planned teaching and child-led play. Standards: 1.1 Program, 1.2 Practice, 1.3 Assessment and planning.

On a visit, look for:

• Records of your child's learning that educators share with you
• A program that follows the children's interests, not only a fixed theme calendar
• A balance of free play and educator-led activities, indoors and out

Quality area 2: Children's health and safety

Wellbeing, sleep and rest, hygiene, illness and injury management, healthy eating, supervision, emergencies, and child safety and protection. Child safety wording in this area was strengthened from 1 January 2026. Standards: 2.1 Health, 2.2 Safety.

On a visit, look for:

• Educators positioned to see every child, indoors and in the yard
• Hand washing, nappy change and sun safety routines you can see happening
• A clear illness and exclusion policy, and a written plan for allergies and medication

Quality area 3: Physical environment

Indoor and outdoor spaces that are fit for purpose, safe, clean and well kept, inclusive of every child, and stocked with enough resources for play-based learning. Standards: 3.1 Design, 3.2 Use.

On a visit, look for:

• Spaces for quiet play, active play and rest
• Open-ended materials and natural elements, not only plastic toys
• Shade outdoors and equipment in good repair

Quality area 4: Staffing arrangements

How educators are organised across the day, continuity of staff, and professional, respectful teamwork. Educator to child ratios and qualifications are legal requirements that sit under this area. Standards: 4.1 Staffing arrangements, 4.2 Professionalism.The minimum numbers are in educator to child ratios.

On a visit, look for:

• The same educators in the room from one visit to the next
• How many educators are in your child's room at the busiest time of day
• How long the room leader has worked at the centre

Quality area 5: Relationships with children

Warm, responsive interactions, each child's dignity and rights, and helping children learn together and manage their own behaviour. Standards: 5.1 Relationships between educators and children, 5.2 Relationships between children.

On a visit, look for:

• Educators who get down to children's level and listen
• Calm, positive guidance instead of punishment
• Children who look settled and busy rather than wandering

Quality area 6: Collaborative partnerships with families and communities

Involving families from enrolment, respecting their culture and values, supporting transitions such as starting school, and links with the local community. Standards: 6.1 Supportive relationships with families, 6.2 Collaborative partnerships.

On a visit, look for:

• Daily communication about your child's day
• Families welcome to visit and to have a say in the program
• Support for the move to school

Quality area 7: Governance and leadership

A service philosophy, management systems for a child safe service, clear roles, continuous improvement through the Quality Improvement Plan, an educational leader, and staff development. Standards: 7.1 Governance, 7.2 Leadership.

On a visit, look for:

• Written policies you can read, including how complaints are handled
• A current Quality Improvement Plan the director will talk you through
• Stable management and a named educational leader

The NQS and the National Quality Framework

The National Quality Standard is one part of the National Quality Framework (NQF), the national system that regulates long day care, family day care, outside school hours care and most preschools and kindergartens. The NQF came into effect on 1 January 2012 and has four parts (ACECQA):

• The National Law and National Regulations. The Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations set the legal duties of providers, supervisors and educators, including ratios, and the powers of the state regulators and ACECQA.
• The National Quality Standard. The 7 quality areas, 15 standards and 40 elements every service is rated against.
• Assessment and rating. The process the state regulators use to visit and rate services, described below.
• The approved learning frameworks. Every service bases its educational program on one: the Early Years Learning Framework for children before school, and My Time, Our Place for school-age care.

ACECQA, the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority, guides how the framework is applied nationally; the regulator in each state and territory approves, monitors and rates services.

How assessment and rating works

Services are assessed and rated by the regulatory authority in their state or territory, usually through a visit by an authorised officer. The steps and typical timeframes, from the Guide to the National Quality Framework:

1. Self-assessment. The provider assesses its own practice and records strengths and improvements in a Quality Improvement Plan (QIP). A new service must submit its QIP within 3 months of approval.
2. Notice. The regulator generally gives 1 to 5 days' notice of a visit. An assessment started because of compliance concerns can begin without notice.
3. Visit. The officer observes practice, sights documents and talks with educators. A full visit to a centre is expected to last at least 6 hours. Family day care visits cover the office and a sample of educators' homes or venues.
4. Draft report. Issued about 3 to 5 weeks after the visit. The provider has 10 working days to point out factual errors.
5. Final ratings. Issued about 8 weeks after the visit. The provider has 14 days to ask for a review.
6. Published. Once the review period ends, the ratings go on the ACECQA national registers and Starting Blocks, and from there onto kid.com.au.

How often services are rated

There is no fixed cycle. Regulators schedule assessments by risk: services with lower ratings are re-rated more often, and services with higher ratings generally wait longer between visits. Serious incidents, complaints, non-compliance or a change of provider can move a service up the schedule. A regulator can also run a partial reassessment of some quality areas, sometimes as a desktop review, and carry the other ratings forward. A provider can apply for a reassessment, for a fee, once every 2 years unless the regulator agrees otherwise. A new service is usually first assessed 9 to 18 months after it starts operating.

How to read a centre's rating

• Look past the overall rating. Each centre page lists the 7 quality area ratings. Weigh the areas that matter most to you, such as health and safety or relationships with children.
• Check the date. Centre pages show the month the rating was issued. A rating is a snapshot of the day of the visit, and an older rating says less about the centre today.
• Compare with the last rating. Where the register has a previous rating, the centre page shows whether the service improved or slipped.
• Ask about the Quality Improvement Plan. Every service keeps one. It shows what the centre is working on and how seriously it takes the gaps.
• Visit. The warmth of the educators, the same faces from week to week and settled children are things only a visit shows. See how to choose a childcare centre.
• Raise concerns. Talk to the service first. If you are still concerned, contact the regulatory authority in your state or territory.

Frequently asked questions

Ratings and counts: ACECQA National Registers, export of 29 October 2026; quality area figures cover services with a rating in that area. Rating levels, assessment steps and scheduling: ACECQA, Assessment and rating process and Guide to the NQF, section 3. Quality areas, standards and elements: ACECQA, National Quality Standard (revised NQS in force from 1 January 2026). National Quality Framework: ACECQA, National Quality Framework, checked 31 October 2026. Excellent rating: ACECQA. Provisional rating: Starting Blocks. Official sources checked 30 October 2026. Search any service on the official ACECQA national registers.