There are five NQS rating levels, prescribed by regulation 57: Significant Improvement Required, Working Towards NQS, Meeting NQS, Exceeding NQS and Excellent. A service that has not yet been assessed holds the Provisional, Not Yet Assessed rating (regulation 58, section 133(2) of the Law). The regulatory authority rates each of the seven quality areas and gives an overall rating (section 135); Excellent is awarded only by ACECQA on application (sections 134(2) and 152). Working Towards means at least one element was not met. Meeting means every element was met. Exceeding means the three Exceeding themes were demonstrated, in at least four quality areas including two of Quality Areas 1, 5, 6 and 7 for the overall rating. The rating stays until the service is reassessed, which the regulatory authority can do at any time (section 138) and the provider can request once every two years (section 139).
This page is the ratings system end to end: what each level means, how element results roll up to a rating, the provisional rating, how and when a rating is notified, reassessment and partial reassessment, the two tiers of review with their time limits, the Excellent rating, and where ratings are published and displayed. The sources are Part 5 of the National Law, regulations 57 and 58, Schedule 1 and the Guide to the NQF.
| Rating | Meaning | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Provisional, Not Yet Assessed | The service has not yet had its first assessment (r 58, s 133(2)). It is not a judgement about quality. | The first assessment is scheduled by the regulatory authority; new services are typically assessed within their first 12 to 18 months. |
| Significant Improvement Required | The service does not meet the NQS or the Regulations in a way that poses an unacceptable risk to the safety, health or wellbeing of children (Guide to the NQF). | The regulatory authority acts: compliance directions, notices, conditions, or suspension or cancellation of the service approval under section 70(d) if there is no improvement. Reassessment follows quickly. |
| Working Towards NQS | At least one element of the NQS is not met. One Working Towards standard makes the quality area Working Towards, and one Working Towards quality area makes the overall rating Working Towards. | Not a fail: ACECQA’s own description is that the service is providing a safe program but one or more areas need improvement. Reassessment is usually scheduled within 12 to 24 months, often as a partial reassessment of the areas rated Working Towards. Roughly two-thirds of services improve at the next assessment. |
| Meeting NQS | Every element in every quality area is met. | The service holds the rating until the next assessment cycle, typically 3 to 5 years depending on the jurisdiction and risk profile. |
| Exceeding NQS | All elements met and practice at the standard level shows the three Exceeding themes; overall Exceeding requires at least four quality areas rated Exceeding, including at least two of Quality Areas 1, 5, 6 and 7. | The service may apply to ACECQA for Excellent once it holds the prescribed rating levels. |
| Excellent | The highest rating, awarded by ACECQA on application against its published criteria (ss 152, 153). An overall rating only. | Awarded for 3 years; application may be made once every 3 years (s 152(4)). |
Section 136 requires written notice of the outcome and the rating levels within 60 days after the officer’s assessment of the premises is completed, or after the end of the review period of a decision that suspended the assessment (s 137). In practice the service receives a draft report first and can give feedback on factual matters before the final report issues. The ratings are published on the national registers and must be displayed at the service with the other prescribed information (regulation 173(1)(d)).
The Law sets no interval. Section 133(1) lets the regulatory authority assess a service at any time, and section 133(2) gives a new service the provisional rating until its first assessment. Section 138 lets the authority reassess the whole service or any aspect of it whenever it chooses, and section 139 lets the provider request a reassessment once in every 2-year period. In practice each authority schedules assessments on risk: a new service is usually assessed within its first 12 to 18 months; a service rated Working Towards is usually reassessed within 1 to 2 years, often as a partial reassessment of the areas rated Working Towards; a service rated Meeting or Exceeding may wait several years, and the national data has shown some services holding a rating for more than 5 years. The authority gives notice of the visit window in advance; the amount of notice is the authority’s published practice, not a rule in the Law. Between assessments the authority still visits for compliance monitoring, and section 135(2) lets it take compliance history into account at the next rating.
A rating is the outcome of an assessment against the National Quality Standard, not an enforcement action. Working Towards NQS means that at the last assessment at least one of the 40 elements was not met; ACECQA’s own description is that the service is providing a safe program and one or more areas need improvement, and most services rated Working Towards improve at the next assessment. It does not mean the service is unsafe. Significant Improvement Required is different: it is given where the authority found an unacceptable risk to children’s safety, health or wellbeing, and it is accompanied by enforcement action under Part 7 of the Law and early reassessment. Families can check three things: the rating certificate and any conditions, which must be displayed at the entrance (regulation 173); the service’s record of compliance directions and notices, which any person may ask to see under regulation 177(3)(b); and the national registers and the regulatory authority’s published enforcement register where the state keeps one. A Provisional rating means only that the service has not yet been assessed.
| Step | Who | Time limit | Provision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feedback on the draft report | Service to the regulatory authority | Period stated in the draft (commonly 10 working days) | Administrative practice |
| First tier review of the rating levels | Service asks the regulatory authority that rated it | Request within 14 days after receiving the section 136 notice, in writing, with grounds, prescribed information and fee. Conducted by a person not involved in the assessment, within 30 days (extendable by 30 or 60 days). | ss 141 to 143 |
| Second tier review by a Ratings Review Panel | Service applies to ACECQA after the first tier decision | Within 14 days after receiving the first tier decision. Only on the grounds that the regulatory authority did not appropriately apply the prescribed processes, or failed to take into account or give sufficient weight to special circumstances or facts existing at the time of the assessment. No new evidence. Decision within 60 days. | ss 144 to 151 |
The panel of up to three members may confirm or amend the rating levels and gives written reasons on each ground within 14 days of deciding (s 151). Its decision is the rating for the purposes of the Law. Judicial review remains available in the usual way but is not a merits review.
Only ACECQA can give the highest rating level (s 134(2)). The provider applies in writing with the prescribed fee (s 152), only if the service holds the prescribed rating levels, which under ACECQA’s criteria means Exceeding NQS in all seven quality areas. ACECQA assesses against its published criteria, takes advice from the regulatory authority on compliance history (s 153) and decides within 60 days (s 155). An application may be made once every 3 years (s 152(4)).
Five, prescribed by regulation 57: Significant Improvement Required, Working Towards NQS, Meeting NQS, Exceeding NQS and Excellent. A service that has not yet been assessed holds the Provisional, Not Yet Assessed rating under regulation 58.
At least one of the 40 elements was not met at the assessment. It caps the standard, the quality area and the overall rating at Working Towards. ACECQA describes it as a service providing a safe program with one or more areas identified for improvement; it is not a failing grade, and most services improve at the next assessment.
For a standard: all elements met and the three Exceeding themes demonstrated (practice embedded in service operations, informed by critical reflection, and shaped by meaningful engagement with families and community). For the overall rating: at least four quality areas rated Exceeding, including at least two of Quality Areas 1, 5, 6 and 7.
The service has not yet had its first Assessment and Rating; until it is assessed it is taken to have the prescribed provisional rating, Provisional, Not Yet Assessed (section 133(2) of the Law, regulation 58). It says nothing about quality either way.
14 days after receiving the notice of the rating to request a first tier review by the regulatory authority (section 141), and 14 days after receiving that decision to apply to ACECQA for a second tier review by a Ratings Review Panel (section 145), which can only consider the grounds in section 144 and no new evidence.
Once in every 2-year period under section 139, unless the regulatory authority agrees otherwise. The regulatory authority itself can reassess the whole service or any aspect of it at any time under section 138, which is how partial reassessments of Working Towards areas happen.
ACECQA, on application by the approved provider under section 152, against criteria it publishes under section 153. The service must already hold the prescribed rating levels (Exceeding NQS in all quality areas), and an application may be made once every 3 years.
For example: the draft report says Element 7.2.1 was not met because the QIP had not been reviewed. WIDEN Law answers with regulations 55 and 56 and the review provisions 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.