At a centre-based service educating children preschool age or under, regulation 126 requires that at least 50 per cent of the educators counted in the ratio hold, or are actively working towards, an approved diploma level education and care qualification, and that every other educator counted in the ratio holds, or is actively working towards, at least an approved certificate III. An educator with no qualification can be counted in the ratio only if they are actively working towards one under the four conditions in regulation 10, or, outside New South Wales, during a probationary period of up to 3 months (regulation 126(1A)). Family day care educators must hold at least a certificate III (regulation 127) and co-ordinators a diploma (regulation 128). The approved qualifications are the ones on ACECQA’s published lists (regulation 137). The provider offence is in section 169(2) of the Law: $34,200 for an individual, $172,000 otherwise; the nominated supervisor is separately liable under section 169(4).
This page sets out the qualification rules for educators under the National Regulations as reprinted on 12 August 2026: who must be qualified, who counts toward the 50 per cent, what actively working towards means and the evidence it requires, the probation and absence exceptions, the family day care rules, the jurisdiction-specific rules for school-age children, and the records an authorised officer checks. Early childhood teacher requirements and first aid qualifications have their own pages.
| Role | Minimum qualification | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| At least 50% of educators counted in the ratio, children preschool age or under | Approved diploma level education and care qualification, held or actively working towards | r 126(1)(a) |
| All other educators counted in the ratio, children preschool age or under | Approved certificate III level education and care qualification, held or actively working towards | r 126(1)(b) |
| Educator on probation (not NSW) | Exempt from the certificate III requirement for up to 3 months with the one approved provider | r 126(1A), (1B) |
| Early childhood teacher or suitably qualified person required in attendance | Counts toward the 50% diploma requirement if working directly with children | r 126(3), (4) |
| Educators of children over preschool age | Whatever Chapter 7 prescribes for the jurisdiction (see below) | r 126(2) |
| Family day care educator | At least an approved certificate III | r 127 |
| Family day care co-ordinator | Approved diploma | r 128 |
| Early childhood teacher | Approved early childhood teaching qualification, or taken to hold one under r 241 | r 129 to 135, r 137(1)(a); see ECT requirements |
| First aid, anaphylaxis, asthma | At least one person with each, in attendance and immediately available at all times | r 136; see first aid requirements |
Regulation 126 applies to “the educators who are required to meet the relevant educator to child ratios for the service”. That has three practical consequences.
Cooks, administrative staff and the nominated supervisor when not on the floor are not educators for the purposes of the ratio and are not counted either way.
An educator is actively working towards a qualification only if all of the following are true:
Three points catch services out. First, enrolment alone is not enough: the evidence of commencement and satisfactory progress must be on file, and it must be refreshed, because an educator who has stopped progressing is no longer working towards the qualification. Second, the diploma pathway has an extra gate: an educator cannot be counted as working towards a diploma from a standing start without the certificate III or the ACECQA-determined units. Third, the evidence must come from the training provider, not from the educator. Authorised officers ask for it when they reconcile the roster with the staff record.
Can unqualified staff be counted in ratios? Yes, in two situations only: an educator who meets all of the regulation 10 conditions, or an educator in the first 3 months of probationary employment with that approved provider outside New South Wales. Anyone else on the floor is an extra pair of hands, not an educator for the ratio.
Regulation 126(1A) switches off the certificate III requirement for an educator employed by an approved provider on a probationary basis for not more than 3 months, across one or more of that provider’s centre-based services. It does not switch off the diploma requirement, so a probationary educator counts only toward the certificate III half. It does not reset when the educator moves between services of the same provider, and it does not apply at all in New South Wales (regulation 126(1B)). Record the start date so the 3 months can be shown.
If an educator counted under regulation 126(1)(a) or (b) is absent because of short-term illness, resignation, a practicum placement for an approved qualification, or leave, a person who holds a qualification in primary teaching may be taken to hold the diploma or certificate III as required, for a maximum of 30 days in any 12-month period, pro rata for a part-time educator. The 30 days attach to the absence being covered, so a service cannot use a primary teacher as a standing substitute. Early childhood teacher absences are covered separately by regulation 135 and allow 60 days.
Regulation 126(2) sends the qualification requirements for educators of children over preschool age (school-age care) to Chapter 7, where each jurisdiction sets its own. The current reprint has them in these parts:
| Jurisdiction | Where the school-age qualification rules sit |
|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | Part 7.2, Division 2 (regulations 261 to 262) |
| New South Wales | Part 7.3, Division 2 (minimum number of educators and qualifications and training) |
| Northern Territory | Part 7.4, Division 2 (regulation 290) |
| Queensland | Part 7.5, Division 2 (regulation 299) |
| South Australia | Part 7.6, Division 2 |
| Tasmania | Part 7.7, Division 2 |
| Victoria | Part 7.8, Division 2 |
| Western Australia | Part 7.9, Division 2 (regulation 370) |
The content differs materially: some jurisdictions require a proportion of school-age educators to hold or be working towards an approved qualification, others impose no qualification requirement for the over-preschool-age cohort. Read the Part for your jurisdiction rather than assuming the regulation 126 split applies to an outside school hours care service.
Regulation 127 requires every family day care educator to hold at least an approved certificate III. There is no actively working towards option: the educator must hold the qualification before being registered to educate and care for children. Regulation 128 requires each family day care co-ordinator to hold an approved diploma. Family day care educator assistants have no qualification requirement under regulation 144, but every educator and assistant must hold first aid, anaphylaxis and asthma training under regulation 136(3). Qualification evidence goes in the register of educators kept under regulation 153.
Regulation 137 requires ACECQA to publish lists of the qualifications it has approved: early childhood teaching qualifications, diploma level education and care qualifications, certificate III level qualifications, qualifications for suitably qualified persons, and approved first aid, anaphylaxis and asthma training. It also publishes the lists of former qualifications recognised under Chapter 7, including the Queensland-specific former qualifications. A qualification is approved if, and only if, it is on the relevant list. The current national training package qualifications (the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care) are on the lists, as are their superseded predecessors. A qualification that is not on any list, including an overseas qualification, can be assessed by ACECQA for equivalence on application; until a determination is made it does not count. Check the ACECQA list by exact qualification title and code, since similarly named qualifications in community services or education support are not approved.
Under the NQS this sits in Quality Area 4: Element 4.1.1 requires the organisation of educators across the service to support children’s learning and development, and the assessor’s starting point is whether the staffing arrangements meet the legal minimums.
Only in two cases. An educator who is actively working towards an approved qualification under regulation 10 (enrolled, with documentary evidence from the training provider of commencement, satisfactory progress and maintained enrolment) can be counted, and, outside New South Wales, an educator in the first 3 months of probationary employment with the approved provider is exempt from the certificate III requirement under regulation 126(1A). Anyone else on the floor without an approved qualification is not an educator for the purposes of regulation 123.
At least 50 per cent of the educators required to meet the ratio for children preschool age or under must hold, or be actively working towards, an approved diploma level education and care qualification (regulation 126(1)(a)). The remainder must hold or be working towards at least an approved certificate III (regulation 126(1)(b)). An early childhood teacher required in attendance counts toward the diploma half when working directly with children.
A trainee counts if they meet regulation 10: enrolled in the approved course and the provider holds the training provider’s written evidence that they have commenced, are progressing satisfactorily and are maintaining enrolment. For a diploma they must also hold a certificate III or have completed the units or percentage determined by ACECQA. A trainee who is merely enrolled, or whose evidence is stale, does not count.
A person with a primary teaching qualification is not on ACECQA’s approved early childhood lists, so they do not hold an approved diploma or certificate III. Regulation 126A lets them be taken to hold one while covering the absence of a qualified educator (illness, resignation, practicum, leave) for up to 30 days in any 12 months, and regulation 135 lets them stand in for an absent early childhood teacher for up to 60 days. Outside those windows they would need to be actively working towards an approved qualification.
Every family day care educator must hold at least an approved certificate III level education and care qualification (regulation 127) and every co-ordinator an approved diploma (regulation 128). There is no actively working towards option in family day care. All educators and educator assistants must also hold current approved first aid, anaphylaxis and emergency asthma training (regulation 136(3)).
No. Regulation 126(2) sends the qualification requirements for educators of children over preschool age to Chapter 7 of the Regulations, where each state and territory sets its own rules (for example Part 7.3 Division 2 for New South Wales and Part 7.8 Division 2 for Victoria). Some jurisdictions require a proportion of school-age educators to be qualified or working towards it; others do not.
Section 169(2) of the National Law: an approved provider who fails to ensure each educator meets the qualification requirements for their role faces a penalty of $34,200 for an individual or $172,000 in any other case. The nominated supervisor is separately liable under section 169(4), with a penalty of $34,200.
Ask whether a specific mix of educators meets the 50 per cent rule, what regulation 10 evidence is enough, or how Chapter 7 treats your school-age educators. WIDEN Law answers with the regulation cited.
14-day free trial, no card →This page is a research summary, not legal or compliance advice. Element and regulation wording is reproduced from the current reprint of the National Regulations; confirm the position with your regulatory authority before relying on it for a compliance decision.