Research shows quality education and care early in life leads to better health, education and employment outcomes. The early years are critical for establishing self-esteem, resilience, healthy growth and capacity to learn. 

The National Quality Framework (NQF) provides a national approach to regulation and assessment for children’s education and care services across Australia. Governments regulate over 17,500 services under the NQF, with more than 1.4 million children attending these services. The Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations govern the minimum standards and requirements that all providers of approved services must meet. 

The National Quality Standard sets the benchmark for service quality and the approved learning frameworks provide the basis for delivering quality educational programs to all children attending early childhood and outside school hours care services. The NQF Evaluation Framework guides all of ACECQA’s research and evaluation work and was developed so that governments and their regulatory agencies have an agreed way of understanding whether and how the NQF is meeting its objectives

This report focuses on a number of aspects of the NQF including:

• children’s health and safety
• educational program and practice
• children from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds
• workforce, and
• service provider perceptions of the NQF.

It highlights continuous quality improvement across all seven quality areas of the National Quality Standard (NQS).