The National Quality Framework (NQF) is Australia’s system for regulating early childhood education and care (ECEC). It provides a national approach to regulation, assessment and quality improvement.
On this page:
What is the NQF?
The NQF provides a national approach to regulation, assessment and quality improvement for ECEC services across Australia. It sets the rules for how education and care is delivered to children.
Equity, inclusion and diversity underpin the NQF. We have information and resources to help ECEC services ensure every child can access and be included in ECEC.
What does it include?
The NQF includes:
- laws and regulations
- quality standards
- approved learning frameworks.
National Law and Regulations
The National Law sets a standard for early childhood education and care across Australia.
The National Regulations support the National Law by providing detail on a range of operational requirements for early childhood education and care services.
See the National Law and Regulations
National Quality Standard
The National Quality Standard (NQS) sets a national benchmark for early childhood education and care services. It promotes the safety, health and wellbeing of children. The NQS includes 7 quality areas.
See the National Quality Standard
Regulatory authorities assess services against each of the 7 quality areas and give them an overall rating based on these results.
Learn about the assessment and rating process
Approved learning frameworks
There are 2 nationally approved learning frameworks that support and promote children’s learning. They are Belonging, Being and Becoming for children aged 0 to 5 and My Time Our Place for school-aged children.
Who does it apply to?
The NQF applies to most ECEC providers and services, including:
- Centre Based Day Care
- Family Day Care
- Outside School Hours Care
- Preschool and kindergarten.
Who administers it?
State and territory regulatory authorities are responsible for administering the NQF.
Find your regulatory authority
The Australian Government funds an independent national authority, ACECQA, to:
- support state and territory regulatory authorities to administer the NQF, and
- promote continuous improvement and national consistency in service quality.
The National Education and Care Services Freedom of Information and Privacy Commissioners and Ombudsman deal with complaints about the bodies responsible for implementing Australia’s ECEC regulatory system.
Visit the National Education and Care Services FOI & Privacy Commissioners & Ombudsman website
Reviews
Regular reviews ensure our regulatory system:
- remains current
- achieves its objectives
- supports the delivery of high-quality ECEC.
2023 child safety review
In 2023 the Australian Government instructed ACECQA to review the child safety arrangements under the NQF.
Findings
The review found Australia has a very good system of ECEC. However, more can be done to ensure the NQF remains contemporary and fit-for-purpose in the context of child safety.
The final report made 16 recommendations about:
- physical and online safety
- child supervision
- staffing requirements.
Read the report from the 2023 child safety review
Public consultation
The review involved national public consultation to inform next steps. The consultation invited feedback on the proposed regulatory and non-regulatory policy options.
Consultation closed on 11 June 2025. The findings and recommendations are detailed in the Decision Regulation Impact Statement (DRIS).
Learn more about the consultation
Outcomes
The review resulted in a range of actions, summarised below. Some of these actions are still being implemented.
National model code for using electronic devices
In July 2024 ACECQA released the National Model Code and Guidelines to promote a child safe culture when it comes to taking, sharing and storing images or videos of children in ECEC. Providers and services are strongly encouraged to adopt the voluntary national model code.
Applying professional teaching standards in non-school settings
In January 2025 the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership released new materials on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. These materials support ECEC workers to apply the standards in non-school settings.
Guidance for assessing students in the workplace
In June 2025 the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) released new guidance about assessing ECEC students in the workplace for registered training organisations. The guidance includes child safety requirements and best practice recommendations.
Regulatory changes
Education Ministers agreed to a small number of changes to the National Regulations.
On 1 September 2025 the first set of changes came into effect. These included:
- policies and procedures about safe use of digital technologies (including CCTV)
- reporting incidents or allegations of physical or sexual abuse within 24 hours
- ensuring service environments are free from vaping substances and vaping devices.
From 1 January 2026 refinements to the National Quality Standard will enhance the focus on child safety in Quality Areas 2 and 7.
ACECQA has resources to help services prepare for these changes.
Joint actions
This review directly informed the new joint actions agreed by Education Ministers in August 2025.
See the joint actions we are taking following this review
2019 NQF review
In 2019 a review of the NQF was conducted to make sure it continued to meet its objectives.
Findings
The review found the NQF was working well overall, but there were areas that could be improved to better protect children and support high-quality ECEC. The review identified a need to:
- strengthen child safety
- update regulations to reflect new risks (like technology)
- ensure the system stayed up to date with best practice.
Public consultation
The review involved 2 rounds of national public consultation to inform next steps on the issues raised.
Read the DRIS and other review documents
Outcomes
Key outcomes of the review included:
- the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations were embedded into the NQF, setting a clear expectation for all services to prioritise child safety
- regulatory changes were made to improve safety in areas such as:
- safe arrival and departure of children
- sleep and rest practices
- transporting children
- safety in multi-storey buildings
- record keeping and family day care registers
- water hazards and safety glass
- assessment and rating of services
- workforce qualification requirements
- more consistent and robust processes for approving and monitoring services and staff.