Outside school hours care (OSHC), including before school care, after school care and vacation care, is regulated under the National Quality Framework like any other centre-based service. The national ratio for children over preschool age is 1:15 (regulation 123(1)(d)), but the ACT uses 1:11 and WA uses a sliding table. There is no national qualification requirement for OSHC educators; Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, the ACT and the NT set their own, while NSW and Tasmania set none. The approved learning framework is My Time, Our Place.
Ratios and qualifications for school-age care in every state, how program documentation differs, and the rules that matter most for before school, after school and vacation care.
| State or territory | Ratio for children over preschool age | Source |
|---|---|---|
| NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, Tasmania, NT | 1:15 | r 123(1)(d) |
| ACT | 1:11 | r 260 |
| Western Australia | A table: 1 educator for up to 10 children, 2 for 11 to 26, then 1 more for each further 13; or 1 for every 10 when a preschool-age child attends | r 369 |
Ratios are calculated across the whole service, and only educators working directly with children count (regulation 122). If a preschool-age child attends (common in vacation care), the ratio for that child’s age band applies to them as well: see under the roof ratios. The ratio calculator handles each state.
Regulation 126(2) leaves qualifications for educators of children over preschool age to each jurisdiction. ACECQA publishes the approved lists for each state under regulation 137(2). In summary:
| State or territory | Requirement for centre-based OSHC | Source |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | No state qualification requirement | None in Part 7.3 |
| Victoria | At least 50% of ratio educators hold, or are enrolled in and studying for, a diploma-level qualification on the Victorian list; the rest hold or are working towards a certificate III-level qualification on that list, or start one within 6 months | r 356 |
| Queensland | Each day, at least one educator who holds or is working towards a 2-year relevant qualification is present (for at least 7 hours 15 minutes on long days). With 30 or more children, 1 in every 30 children needs an educator with at least a 1-year qualification. Educators under 18 must hold or be working towards a 1-year qualification. Short grace periods apply to new adult educators. | r 299 |
| South Australia | The first of every 2 ratio educators must be a qualified educator, and at least one must be a first qualified educator, under the SA lists | r 321 |
| Western Australia | The number of qualified educators in column 4 of the regulation 369 table (1 for up to 39 children with no preschool child attending, rising with numbers) | r 370 |
| Tasmania | No state qualification requirement | None in Part 7.7 |
| ACT | At least 1 qualified educator for every 33 children, with the first holding a qualification on the ACT first-qualified-educator list | r 261, r 262 |
| Northern Territory | At least 50% of ratio educators hold or are working towards a listed qualification, a 2-year post-secondary child care course, or a post-secondary sports and recreation or teaching qualification | r 290 |
Early childhood teacher requirements do not apply to children over preschool age. Every service still needs first aid, anaphylaxis and asthma trained educators under regulation 136, an educational leader, and a nominated supervisor.
OSHC services usually base their program on My Time, Our Place, the approved framework for school-age care. Nationally, regulation 74(1)(b) requires documented evaluations of each school-age child’s wellbeing, development and learning. Most states replace this with a lighter rule: the service documents evidence about how the program was developed. That applies in NSW (r 274A), Queensland (r 298A), SA (r 325B), Tasmania (r 345A), Victoria (r 359A), WA (r 373A) and the NT (r 289A). The ACT keeps the national rule.
1 educator to 15 children over preschool age under regulation 123(1)(d), except in the ACT (1:11 under regulation 260) and WA (the sliding table in regulation 369).
There is no national requirement. Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory set their own requirements; NSW and Tasmania do not.
Vacation care is OSHC, so the same ratio applies: 1:15 for children over preschool age in most states, 1:11 in the ACT and the regulation 369 table in WA. Any preschool-age child attending must be counted at their own age band's ratio.
My Time, Our Place: Framework for School Age Care in Australia, the approved learning framework for school-age care.
Only in accordance with the written authorisation of a parent or an authorised nominee named in the child's enrolment record (regulation 99(4)(b)), or one of the other exceptions in regulation 99.
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.