A self-assessment of the service against each NQS Quality Area, identified areas for improvement, the service's strategies and actions to address them, and a statement of the service's philosophy. ACECQA provides a template, but the structure can vary as long as the content is present.

Quality Improvement Plan (QIP): a practical guide for ECEC services

The Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) is the single most important compliance document an Australian education and care service maintains. It's a legal requirement under Regulation 55 of the National Regulations, and it's the document an Assessment and Rating visit centres on. This guide covers what the QIP must contain, what assessors actually do with it, and the common gaps that drop services to Working Towards.

What the regulations require

Regulation 55 requires the approved provider to take reasonable steps to ensure the service has a Quality Improvement Plan. The QIP must:

Include a self-assessment against the National Quality Standard
Identify areas for improvement
Include a statement of the service's philosophy

Under Regulation 56, the QIP must be reviewed and revised at least annually and at any time directed by the regulatory authority. The service must keep the QIP available at the service for inspection by the regulatory authority on request — in practice, this means a printed or readily-accessible digital copy on site.

What goes in a QIP

ACECQA publishes a QIP template, but services can use their own structure provided the required content is present. The typical structure:

Service overview

Service details (approved provider, nominated supervisor, address, approved capacity)
Operating context (community, age range, hours)
Statement of philosophy

Self-assessment by Quality Area

For each of the 7 Quality Areas, the QIP should record:

Strengths — specific practices the service is doing well, with examples
Areas identified for improvement
Planned strategies and actions, with timeframes and accountability

Goals and progress

The improvement actions should be specific enough that progress can be tracked. Vague goals ("improve communication with families") are weaker than specific ones ("introduce a fortnightly family forum by 30 September, reporting attendance to the leadership team monthly").

The biggest QIP mistake

Treating the QIP as a one-off document written before the Assessment and Rating visit. Assessors can tell — they'll ask "when was the last review of this section?" and "what's changed since you wrote this?" A QIP with the same content year after year drops the service in QA7 (Governance and leadership).

What assessors actually do with the QIP

During an Assessment and Rating visit, the QIP is used three ways:

As a roadmap for the visit. Assessors review it before arriving and use the self-identified strengths and improvements to know where to look first.
As evidence of governance maturity (QA7). A QIP that has been actively reviewed and revised is a strong indicator that the service has functioning leadership and continuous-improvement processes.
As a comparison against observed practice. If the QIP describes a practice that the assessor doesn't see in the room, that mismatch becomes a finding. The reverse also — if the service is doing something well that isn't in the QIP, the assessor will note it but the lack of self-awareness counts against governance.

The annual review cycle that works

Services that consistently rate Meeting NQS or above tend to share a QIP review pattern:

Quarterly progress check — leadership reviews each improvement action; updates status and timeframes
Six-monthly full self-assessment — revisit each Quality Area, capture new strengths and emerging improvement areas
Annual deep review — involves educators, families (via the survey or forum), and any external advisors
Pre-A&R review — a structured walkthrough about 6-8 weeks before a scheduled visit, capturing recent changes and confirming evidence is in place

How WIDEN Law helps with QIP work

Upload your current QIP to WIDEN Law (Centre and Group plans). It runs a gap analysis cross-referenced to specific NQS elements and flags areas the document doesn't address. Useful as a sanity check before submitting to the regulatory authority or before an A&R visit.

Common QIP gaps that drop services to Working Towards

Philosophy that doesn't reflect daily practice — aspirational language that educators don't actually live
Generic improvement goals — "improve outdoor environment" without specifics on what, by when, by whom
No evidence of family input — QIP written entirely by leadership without family or educator contribution
Stale dates — improvement actions with deadlines from the previous year still showing as "in progress"
Missing self-assessment for some elements — the QIP covers 5 of 7 QAs but skips QA6 entirely
Disconnect from policies and procedures — QIP says one thing, the service's policy register says another

Run your QIP through WIDEN Law

Upload the document. Get a gap analysis cross-referenced to NQF / Regulations / NQS elements with inline citations.

Try free for 30 days →

Frequently asked questions

Is a Quality Improvement Plan legally required?

Yes. Regulation 55 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011 requires the approved provider to ensure the service has a QIP. It must be made available to the regulatory authority on request.

How often does a QIP need to be reviewed?

At least annually under Regulation 56, and at any other time directed by the regulatory authority. Services that treat the QIP as a quarterly working document tend to outperform.

Can a service use the ACECQA template?

Yes — the ACECQA template is widely used and accepted. The structure isn't prescribed; what matters is that the required content (self-assessment, improvement areas, philosophy) is present.

Does the QIP need to be approved by the regulator?

No — the QIP is a self-assessment tool maintained by the service. The regulatory authority may request a copy and uses it during Assessment and Rating, but doesn't formally approve it.

What happens if a service doesn't have a QIP?

Non-compliance with Regulation 55 can result in compliance action, including a Compliance Direction or in serious cases an Infringement Notice. Beyond the direct compliance consequence, the absence of a QIP almost certainly drops the service in QA7 at the next A&R visit.

This page is a research summary, not legal or compliance advice. Verify specific Reg 55 and Reg 56 requirements for your jurisdiction against the current National Regulations and your state regulator's guidance.