If a child is in immediate danger, call 000. If you suspect abuse or neglect, report it to your state’s child protection service. For other concerns about a childcare service, you can: raise it with the educator or director; use the service’s complaints process, which every service must have (r 168(2)(o)); and complain to the state or territory regulator, which can investigate breaches of the National Law. Complaints alleging a serious incident or a breach of the Law must be notified to the regulator by the service within 24 hours. Concerns about Child Care Subsidy billing go to the Australian Government Department of Education.
Who to contact for which kind of problem, what the regulator in each state can do, and how to make a complaint that gets acted on.
| Your concern | Contact |
|---|---|
| A child is in immediate danger | Police and emergency services on 000 |
| Suspected abuse or neglect of a child | Your state or territory child protection service, and the regulator |
| Day-to-day concerns: communication, routines, a staff member’s conduct | The educator, then the director or nominated supervisor, using the service’s complaints process |
| Safety, supervision, ratios, an injury, an unreported incident, or a possible breach of the National Law or Regulations | The state or territory regulator (table below) |
| Fees charged, gap fees or Child Care Subsidy | The service first; then the Australian Government Department of Education, which administers provider obligations under Family Assistance Law |
| State or territory | Regulator to complain to |
|---|---|
| NSW | NSW Early Learning Commission |
| Victoria | Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA) |
| Queensland | Early Childhood Regulatory Authority, Department of Education |
| Western Australia | Education and Care Regulatory Unit, Department of Communities |
| South Australia | Education Standards Board |
| Tasmania | Education and Care Unit |
| ACT | Children’s Education and Care Assurance (CECA) |
| Northern Territory | Quality Education and Care NT (QECNT) |
Regulators can investigate, inspect the service, and take action such as compliance notices, conditions, enforceable undertakings, prosecution, or suspending or cancelling an approval. See compliance notices and enforcement. Their complaint pages explain what they can and cannot deal with, such as private fee disputes.
Raise it with the service first using its complaints process, which every service must have. For safety concerns or possible breaches of the National Law, contact the state or territory regulatory authority. If a child is in immediate danger, call 000.
Each state and territory has a regulatory authority under the National Law: the NSW Early Learning Commission, VECRA in Victoria, the Early Childhood Regulatory Authority in Queensland, the Education and Care Regulatory Unit in WA, the Education Standards Board in SA, the Education and Care Unit in Tasmania, CECA in the ACT and QECNT in the NT.
If the complaint alleges a serious incident, or that the National Law has been contravened, the provider must notify the regulator within 24 hours of receiving it.
Start with the service. For Child Care Subsidy issues, such as gap fee collection, contact the Australian Government Department of Education.
WIDEN Law answers National Quality Framework questions with inline citations to the National Law, the Regulations and the NQS, so you can check the source provision yourself.
14-day free trial, no card →This page is a research summary, not legal or compliance advice. It is written in our own words from the sources linked on the page; confirm the position with your regulatory authority before relying on it for a compliance decision.