Working Towards the National Quality Standard
What to expect if your service receives a Working Towards the National Quality Standard (NQS) quality rating.
What does ‘Working Towards NQS’ mean?
A Working Towards NQS rating may be given where a service does not meet a standard in one or more quality areas of the NQS (regulation 60). This means that one or more quality areas were identified for improvement in the service’s most recent assessment and rating report. Learn more about quality ratings.
Working Towards Services Policy
The Working Towards Policy outlines what to expect when a service is rated Working Towards NQS in the final assessment and rating report issued to its approved provider.
This includes the expectation that services rated Working Towards NQS take immediate steps to improve their service’s quality and/or compliance with regulations to meet the national benchmark of Meeting NQS.
The NSW Department of Education, as the regulatory authority for early childhood education and care (NSW Regulatory Authority), is dedicated to helping services uplift their quality and compliance, to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of children in NSW.
The NSW Regulatory Authority will take action where persistent poor quality and non-compliance with the National Law and Regulations is identified. All regulatory decisions and interventions are guided by the fundamental principle that the rights, safety and wellbeing of children must always be the highest priority.
The Working Towards Policy outlines the proportionate regulatory tools the NSW Regulatory Authority may use for:
- services with consecutive Working Towards NQS ratings
- approved providers who fail to demonstrate engagement with uplift support mechanisms
- approved providers with multiple services rated Working Towards NQS.
Learn more
Read the Services rated Working Towards the National Quality Standard Policy (PDF 169 KB).
Support programs and initiatives
A range of tailored supports and resources are available to support Working Towards services to better understand their obligations, improve compliance with regulatory requirements, keep children safe and achieve quality outcomes for children and their families.
The NSW Regulatory Authority’s Continuous Improvement Team (CIT) are experienced authorised officers who are available to support services through the Quality Uplift Program, which aims to engage services in self-assessment and quality improvement.
The team provides services rated Working Towards NQS with up to 6 months of 1:1 support tailored to the unique needs of each service. This support starts with a proactive call to services and includes up to 2 monitoring and compliance visits in 6 months, professional guidance and coaching, and links to resources that are relevant to the service’s context.
Services receiving 1:1 support from CIT will undergo assessment and rating 12 months post-program completion.
This support works in tandem with the Quality Support Program and Sector Strengthening Program to ensure it is proportionate to the service’s needs.
To discuss your individual service needs, contact the team by calling 1800 619 113 or emailing ecequalitysupport@det.nsw.edu.au.
The Quality Support Program is a structured professional learning opportunity for services that are rated Working Towards NQS. ECEC service leaders, teachers and educators are supported to embed continuous quality improvement and improve the quality of their teaching practices.
The program’s 2 pathways are:
- Meeting National Quality Standard (NQS) Pathway
- Compliance Support Pathway.
Services that participate in the Quality Support Program are able to access support such as:
- online and/or face-to-face interactive workshops and networking
- visits from program facilitators
- tailored mentoring and coaching sessions
- online eLearning modules
- access to the ACECQA resource library
- facilitated communities of learners.
Services will undergo assessment and rating 12 months post-program completion.
Learn more
- See Quality Support Program pathway intakes for 2025.
- Read experiences from past program participants.
Aboriginal community-controlled organisations (ACCO) running early childhood education and care services in NSW can access tailored support from the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) through the department’s Sector Strengthening Partnership.
SNAICC provides practical assistance including workforce planning, program design and delivery, and other forms of support to help services to implement culturally safe, inclusive, quality early childhood education and care for children, families and communities.
Learn more
Learn about the Sector Strengthening Partnership.
Read about SNAICC’s Early Years Support.
The Safety and Quality Practice Program includes a range of individual initiatives and self-directed education tools to help individuals working in and operating ECEC services to uplift their knowledge and skills in a range of practice areas.
The Safety and Quality Practice Program is available to all approved providers, services and staff in NSW.
Learn more
See initiatives and resources available through the Safety and Quality Practice Program.
Communicating to families about your service’s rating
At times, parents and carers may have questions about the quality rating of your service and what it means for the education and care of their child. Resources are available to support you to explain the quality rating of your service and your quality improvement plan.
More information
- Read the Services rated Working Towards the National Quality Standard Policy (PDF 169 KB).
- Visit the ECEC Resource Library for a range of resources for early childhood education and care services, providers and educators.