Childcare ratio calculator: South Australia

South Australia ratios. The national figures apply in every band: 1:4, 1:5, 1:11, 1:15. South Australia adds a short-absence provision in Chapter 7 (r 325A) under which an educator briefly absent may continue to be counted subject to its conditions. Source: Education and Care Services National Regulations, reprint current as at 12 August 2026.

Enter the children in care by age group and get the minimum number of educators under Regulation 123 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011, room by room and across the whole service. Checked against the National Regulations on 24 October 2026. The figures are the jurisdiction’s own: national bands under r 123(1)(a)–(d), and the state settings in Chapter 7 where a state differs. Confirm with your regulatory authority before rostering.

Calculator by state: NSW · Victoria · Queensland · WA · SA · Tasmania · ACT · NT. The rule text: regulation 123 and regulation 122.

State or territory

Room or group name (optional)

Birth to 24 months

Ratio 1:4 · r 123(1)(a)

Over 24 months to under 36 months

Ratio 1:5 · r 123(1)(b)

36 months to preschool age

Ratio 1:11 · r 123(1)(c)

Over preschool age (school-age children)

Ratio 1:15 · r 123(1)(d)

Calculate across the whole service (“under the roof”). The minimum number of educators is worked out by reference to all children in attendance, not room by room. Untick to see the room-by-room figure as the headline. Education Ministers agreed in February 2026 to remove the across-the-service approach; the regulation had not been amended at the 12 August 2026 reprint. Room by room is the safer footing: see under the roof ratios.

Have the roster? The roster checker takes the educators you actually have and tests the ratio, the regulation 126 qualification split, the early childhood teacher hours for your size and the regulation 136 first aid cover together.

Mixed ages. Older children may be counted toward younger children’s ratios, and the educators needed are the total across the groups; the calculator applies that by adding every band’s requirement at the jurisdiction’s own figures.

Who counts. An educator counts toward the ratio only while working directly with children at the service (Regulation 122). An educator on a break, doing admin in another room, or supervising from outside the room does not count. In a mixed-age group, work out each age band separately and round up.

How the calculation works

Room by room: for each age band, children divided by the ratio, rounded up to a whole educator, then added together. This is what a single room with a single age band needs.

Across the service (under the roof): Regulation 123 sets the minimum number of educators by reference to all children in attendance at the service. The calculator adds the fractional requirement of every band first and rounds up once, which is usually one educator fewer than the room-by-room total. The educators must still be deployed so that every group meets its band’s ratio at all times.

The ratios by jurisdiction

Jurisdiction	Birth to 24 months	Over 24 to under 36 months	36 months to preschool age	Over preschool age
ACT	1:4	1:5	1:11	1:11 (r 260)
NSW	1:4	1:5	1:10 (r 271)	1:15
NT	1:4	1:5	1:11	1:15
QLD	1:4	1:5	1:11	1:15
SA	1:4	1:5	1:11	1:15
TAS	1:4	1:5	1:10, or 2:25 for children attending a preschool program (r 342)	1:15
VIC	1:4	1:4 (r 357)	1:11	1:15
WA	1:4	1:5	1:11 (national)	1 up to 10 children, 2 up to 26, then +1 per 13; 1:10 if a preschool-age child attends (r 369)

Source: Education and Care Services National Regulations, current reprint including the 2025 amendments. Checked 24 October 2026. Confirm with your regulatory authority before rostering. This page is a research summary, not legal or compliance advice.

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