COR010390
Hon Jenny Mikakos MP
Minister for Families and Children
GPO Box 4057
MELBOURNE 3001
Dear Minister
Thank you for your letter dated 20 June 2015, providing your Statement of Expectations for the
Department of Education and Training.
The Statement has been published on the Department’s website. This response to the Statement has
been prepared, and its activities will be implemented by the Department’s Quality Assessment and
Regulation Division (QARD) in the Early Childhood and School Education Group. QARD is the body I
have delegated to undertake the responsibilities of the Regulatory Authority for early childhood
education and care under the Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 [National Law] and
associated regulations, and the Children’s Services Act 1996 [Vic] and associated regulations.
Detailed below are the activities that QARD will undertake to meet your expectations.
PERFORMANCE EXPECTATION
Apply best endeavours to assess and rate all
Victorian education and care services
regulated under the National Law. Report to
the Minister regularly on Victoria’s progress
towards this target.
ACTIVITY
1. Provide targeted training, resources and
support materials to Authorised Officers to
enable efficient and effective assessment and
rating of services.
2. Implement strategies to support the efficient
rating of services including:
 streamlining arrangements for the
assessment and rating of Family Day
Care services,
 deploying QARD Area Team Authorised
Officers to target areas of greatest need,
 maintaining a small centrally based
contingency team, and
 exploring the use of a tablet-based
assessment instrument to increase
efficiency.
PERFORMANCE EXPECTATION
Lead and contribute work on the 2014 Council
of Australian Governments’ Review of the
National Partnership on the National Quality
Agenda for Early Childhood Education and
Care, and implement the agreed outcomes,
with a view to:
 maintaining and enhancing quality
education and care outcomes for
Victorian children in early childhood
education and care and school aged
care services, and
 reducing the overall regulatory burden
for education and care services.
Achieve greater consistency in regulatory
practice and outcomes by aligning
administration of the Children’s Services Act
1996 with the Education and Care Services
National Law Act 2010.
By December 2015, develop mechanisms to
align the records management of Victorian
children’s services with the National Quality
Agenda Information Technology System to
support the consistent recording and reporting
of all Victorian education and care services in a
comprehensive database.
Adopt a risk-based approach to ensure that
services are adequately monitored and that
notifications and complaints are investigated
in a timely way.
Review risk assessment frameworks on an
ongoing basis to ensure that risks to the
safety, health and wellbeing of children are
minimised.
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ACTIVITY
3. Provide monthly reports to the Minister for
Families and Children on progress in assessing
and rating services.
4. Provide representation on, and contribute to,
the work of the Review of the National
Partnership on the National Quality Agenda for
Early Childhood Education and Care (NQA
Review).
5. Provide resource materials and guidance to
the regulated sector and departmental staff to
support the implementation of the legislative
and policy changes arising from the NQA Review.
6. Review the Children’s Services Act 1996 and
associated regulations to align the Act and
regulations to the extent possible with the
Education and Care Services National Law Act
2010 with a view to the implementation of new
legislation in 2017. Key aspects of this work will
be:
 analysis of the Act and regulations,
 stakeholder consultation including if
appropriate a ‘Regulatory Impact
Statement’,
 draft Bill and associated Cabinet and
Parliamentary processes, and
 drafting of new Act.
7. Electronic records relating to Victorian
Children’s Services are now stored confidentially
in the National Quality Agenda IT system
allowing for more comprehensive reporting.
8. Review and strengthen risk assessment
frameworks, including identifying opportunities
for introducing greater earned autonomy and a
more responsive approach to services with poor
records of compliance.
9. Ensure ongoing review of risk reporting,
analysis and protocols with a view to refining
approaches to ensure risk minimisation.
PERFORMANCE EXPECTATION
Work with the Commonwealth Department of
Social Services and other relevant agencies to
address compliance issues associated with the
strong growth in the family day care sector.
Deepen engagement with education and care
providers and services, families and other
stakeholders, to inform the ongoing
improvement of regulatory activities.
Improve the transparency and accountability
of regulatory and decision-making processes.
Make available clear and timely information
about regulatory processes and decisions, and
the avenues available to providers and
services to appeal decisions.
Publish an annual report on activities as the
regulatory authority for early childhood
education and care services in Victoria as a
way of ensuring public accountability and
providing information about regulatory work.
Support early childhood education and care
providers to reduce non-compliance. Make
available information to providers and services
to ensure their understanding of their
legislated obligations.
Provide advice to services that receive a rating
of ‘Working Towards the National Quality
Standard’ to assist them to meet the Standard.
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ACTIVITY
10. Continue to work with the Commonwealth
Department of Social Services (DSS) to share
compliance information to better target poor
providers.
11. Advocate to DSS that the eligibility for
Commonwealth Assistance be tightened to
reduce opportunistic service applications driven
by access to Commonwealth subsidies rather
than genuine demand for education and care.
12. Further develop online resources and provide
information sessions to early childhood
education and care providers, services and key
stakeholders, on assessment and rating
objectives, legislative and regulatory
requirements and changes.
13. Develop specific information for families to
inform them of the role of the Regulatory
Authority in investigating complaints and the
obligations of services to address complaints
made by parents.
14. Ensure that information in relation to review
and appeal avenues is communicated in an
appropriate format to relevant parties.
15. Publish the Investigation Guidelines which
apply to the conduct of investigations into
alleged breaches of the National Law or
Children’s Services Act 1996 undertaken by
QARD.
16. Publish an Annual Report of the main
activities undertaken by the Department in its
role as the regulator of early childhood education
and care services.
17. Review and develop information for
providers and services on legislative
requirements and best practice in the provision
of early childhood education and care services
against the National Quality Standard.
18. Provide support to services through a variety
of means including print, online, and information
forums.
19. Continue to work with Program Support
Provider Gowrie Victoria to support services
rated as Working Towards the National Quality
Standard, based on feedback provided as part of
the assessment and rating process.
PERFORMANCE EXPECTATION
Promote greater cooperation, information
sharing, regulatory coherence and efficiency
with other regulators and key partners.
Establish Memoranda of Understanding or
other arrangements to streamline processes
and share information with:
 The Victorian Registration and
Qualifications Authority, with respect
to the regulation of kindergartens on
school grounds and school aged care
where school councils are the
approved provider, and
 The Victorian Institute of Teaching,
with respect to its responsibility to
register early childhood teachers from
September 2015.
Work cooperatively with the Australian
Children’s Education and Care Quality
Authority and other State and Territory
regulatory authorities to administer the
National Law.
ACTIVITY
20. Develop information sharing arrangements
with the Commonwealth Department of
Education, the Victorian Registration and
Qualifications Authority and the Australian Skills
Quality Authority where appropriate for the
effective regulation of education and care
services.
21. Develop information sharing protocols with
the Victorian Institute of Teaching to support the
registration of early childhood teachers.
22. Provide representation on key Australian
Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority
(ACECQA) working groups and input to ACECQA
operational and policy development as
appropriate.
The activities and deliverables outlined above will be included in the QARD Strategic Plan. Key
milestone reports will be provided to you through both existing and, where appropriate, specific
reports.
I look forward to working with you as the Department continues to deliver on your expectations.
Yours sincerely
Gill Callister
Secretary
/ /2015
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