Guidelines for First Tier Review
Review of rating by Regulatory Authority
An approved provider can apply to a Regulatory Authority for a review of ratings. There are legislative
requirements regarding how and when the application can be made, and how it should be dealt with.
These guidelines provide a consistent approach across jurisdictions in respect of these obligations.
What is the relevant law?
Section 141 of the Education and Care Services National Law (National Law) allows approved providers to
ask for a review of a rating by the Regulatory Authority (commonly referred to as ‘first tier review’) who
determined it.
A request for review must:
(a) be in writing
(b) set out the grounds on which the review is sought
(c) be accompanied by the prescribed information
(d) include payment of the prescribed fee.
Requests must include details of a nominated contact person for the purposes of the request (regulation
68) as well as the related quality areas of the National Quality Standard (NQS). The request must be
made within 14 days of the approved provider receiving notice of the rating. If sent electronically it is
from that day, however if the notice is not sent electronically it is deemed to have been received in the
time in which ordinary post would be delivered.
These guidelines should be read in conjunction with Sections 141 – 143 of the National Law which set out
information about the role of Regulatory Authorities in review of rating, along with Regulation 68 of the
Education and Care Services National Regulations (National Regulations), which sets out the prescribed
information an approved provider must include in a request for review of rating levels by Regulatory
Authority.
Ratings review
Upon completion of an assessment and rating visit the Regulatory Authority will prepare a draft
assessment and rating report to send to the approved provider, including the proposed ratings.
The approved provider has an opportunity at this point to provide comment, discuss the draft
report and seek further clarification. These comments will be taken into consideration before
the service’s assessment and rating report is finalised and the notice of the service’s ratings is
issued.
If an approved provider disagrees with the final ratings levels, they may seek a review from the
Regulatory Authority.
The review of ratings provides an opportunity for Regulatory Authorities to examine decision making and
the evidence used to arrive at those decisions, focusing on their validity, reliability and consistency.
This review of ratings by Regulatory Authority is referred to as first tier review.
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Making a first tier review application
The National Law states that a request from an approved provider for a review of rating must be in
writing setting out the grounds on which the review is sought and be accompanied by the prescribed
information (section 141). Section 141 (4)(d) states that the request for review must also include
payment of the prescribed fee but Schedule 2 Part 1 of the National Regulations negates this by
prescribing the fee as nil.
Regulation 68 prescribed the information, for the purposes of section 141, as being the name and
approval number of the education and care service, the name and relevant details of the contact person
in relation to the request for a review as well as the quality areas in the NQS to which the grounds for
review relate.
For Regulatory Authorities across Australia to effectively and consistently manage the process of first tier
reviews, approved providers should make their request directly to the Regulatory Authority using form
SA11 Application for Review of Ratings by Regulatory Authority (Service Rating). This form can be found
on the ACECQA website.
Grounds for review
The legislation is silent on the grounds for first tier review. However, the review of rating by the
Regulatory Authority is a review of the assessment that was conducted at a point in time, not a
reassessment of the service. The Regulatory Authority can take into account new information during a
first tier review, but any information must relate to the facts from the point in time when the
assessment was conducted (including the period between the draft and final report).
If changes have been made at the service since the ratings assessment that might improve the service’s
rating levels, the provider should not apply for a first tier review. Instead, the provider should consider
whether to apply for a reassessment and re-rating under section 139 of the National Law. During a
reassessment and re-rating, the Regulatory Authority can take into account changes made after the
initial ratings assessment. These changes cannot be taken into account during first tier review.
Contents of a first tier review application form
Applicants must provide all information outlined in the application form for request for rating review by
Regulatory Authority, as well as any other information reasonably requested by the Regulatory
Authority, including:
A. Legislative requirements for request
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the name of the education and care service
the service approval number
the name and contact details of the contact person for the purposes of the request
the quality areas stated in the NQS to which the ground of the review relate
the grounds on which the review is sought
B. Additional requirements for requests
 service address details
 approved provider information
 applicant declaration
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C. Additional information included on request form
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Regulatory Authority contact / submission details
submission obligations
privacy statement
request requirements
review process
Timeframe for determination
A Regulatory Authority must conduct a first tier review within 30 days of receiving the request (section
142(3)). This period may be extended by up to 30 days if an approved provider and any person who was
involved in the assessment or rating of the service has been asked by the reviewer for further information,
or by agreement between the approved provider and the Regulatory Authority (section 142).
Conducting a first tier review
Regulatory Authorities will determine who is involved in the review of ratings. They may determine that
it is an individual officer, or a panel, that conducts the review and makes the decision. Alternatively,
they may determine that an individual officer, or a panel, conducts the review and makes a
recommendation to a delegated officer to make the final decision.
Any person(s) conducting the review must not have been involved in the assessment or rating of the
service for which the review relates. While the conducting officer will most likely be from the same
Department, where possible it is advisable that the conducting officer not be from the same team. Those
involved in the assessment and rating of the service would be considered to be the authorised officer(s)
who conducted the assessment and the delegate who determined or approved the final rating.
The person(s) making the decision upon a first tier review will have:
• been delegated the power to determine a service’s ratings
• access to all of the relevant information
this information must include the information submitted by the approved provider in the
request for rating review application, and all information used by the Regulatory Authority in
the determination of the original rating
• relevant knowledge of the NQF, NQS and assessment and rating process, including
administrative processes and requirements
• knowledge of relevant legislation
have a solid understanding of the provisions in the legislation, in particular the requirements
of review and the relationship between different sections and regulations
• effective communication skills
• conflict resolution skills
this skill will be crucial in dealing with approved providers and also at times relevant staff
within the Regulatory Authority
Process for review
Regulatory Authorities should consistently follow this process for a first tier review of ratings:
a. receive request for review
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b. register request for review on National Quality Agenda Information Technology System (NQA ITS)
c. acknowledge receipt of application
d. identify person(s) within Regulatory Authority involved in the original assessment and/or rating
of the education and care service to which the application relates to ensure they are not involved
in the first tier review
e. assign request for review to an individual officer, or a panel
f. validate and review application
this process involves ensuring that the application form is complete and all supporting
documentation referenced in the application has been included. A review of the application will
determine the grounds for the review and make a determination on the need for further
information to be sought
g. seek further information if required, for example:
 further information from approved provider to support grounds for requesting review,
excluding information not available to original decision maker
 notes, evidence or any other information considered in original determination of rating
 comment from those involved in the assessment and rating of the service on the grounds
of the request for review of rating
 any other relevant information from individual persons as determined through a review
of the information provided by the applicant or Regulatory Authority staff involved in the
assessment and rating of the service
 if the grounds for the review are in relation to the process of assessment or the conduct
of the authorised officer the individual officer or panel may determine the need for, and
request, an additional assessment visit by another authorised officer (section 138)
h. assess application
the review entails determining whether there is sufficient evidence to support the rating given by
the original decision maker. In some situations Regulatory Authorities may decide to seek legal
advice on a request for rating review
i. individual officer or panel recommends confirming specific rating levels and/or the overall rating,
or recommends approving amendment to the specific rating levels and/or the overall rating
j. individual officer or panel prepares a statement of reason(s)
in making recommendation the individual or panel needs to record the recommendation and the
nature of the recommendation against each element, standard or quality area that the request
related. This statement should also make reference to the considerations taken into account
when making the review recommendation.
k. Regulatory Authority staff member delegated the approval of the review of rating approves or
does not approve the recommendation
l. notify relevant Regulatory Authority staff, including original decision maker, of outcomes and
grounds for decision of review of rating
m. notify approved provider of outcomes and grounds for decision of review of rating further
detailing the specific outcomes if they relate to the elements, standards or quality areas of the
NQS. Notification should also include further review rights.
n. determine if the review of rating has improvement opportunities for Regulatory Authority in
relation to the assessment and rating process
o. a review of rating must be conducted within 30 days after the application for review was
received, unless extended under section 142(4) of the National Law.
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The National Authority’s obligation to publish a service’s rating does not operate until the end of the 14
day period within which a provider can submit a first tier review request (section 141(3)). If such a review
is sought the publishing of a service rating is not done until after the end of the 14 day period within
which the provider can apply to the Ratings Review Panel (second tier review) for a review.
It is important to note that any information used in the determination of a first tier review will need to be
provided to the rating review panel if an application for second tier review is sought. If any information
provided is used in the determination of second tier review it will be made available to the approved
provider.
Notice of decision
Regulatory Authorities must give the approved provider written notice of the decision on the first tier
review within 30 days, unless agreement made with approved provider or additional information is
requested (section 143(2)). The notice must set out the rating levels and overall rating for the service and
the reason for the decision (section 143(3)).
The notice should detail the decision of the first tier review at element, standard and quality area level as
well as the overall rating for the service, whether confirmed or amended, and the reason for the
decision.
Review by Ratings Review Panel
The notice will also advise that the approved provider may seek a review by Ratings Review Panel
(commonly referred to as ‘second tier review’) within 14 days of receiving the notice and will detail the
grounds on which that review may be sought (section 144).
Approved providers can seek a second tier review if the Regulatory Authority failed to complete the first
tier review within the prescribed timeframe or if the Regulatory Authority’s first tier review was
conducted by someone involved in the assessment and rating of the service. The approved provider may
also seek a second tier review on the grounds that the first tier review did not take into account, or give
sufficient weight to, facts or special circumstances existing at the time of the assessment and rating.
Special circumstances are unusual, uncommon or exceptional events that should have been taken into
account or given more weight during the first tier review. For example, an event which means that the
service was not awarded a rating that it would otherwise have been awarded.
Where can I get further information?
Further information on the first and second tier reviews, as well as the assessment and ratings
process, can be found on the ACECQA website at www.acecqa.gov.au.
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