Notification and complaint data
This page provides data on notifications and complaints submitted to the NSW Early Learning Commission, the independent regulator for early childhood education and care (ECEC) in NSW, in Quarter 1 (July to September) of the 2025–26 financial year (FY).
Slight variations in the figures published on this page each quarter may be experienced as data is captured at a specific point in time and may be updated retrospectively to reflect information related to the reporting period.
Approved providers are responsible for notifying the NSW Early Learning Commission (Commission) about a broad range of incidents, complaints and operational changes that occur at their service, including circumstances that may pose a risk to the health, safety or wellbeing of children attending an early childhood education and care (ECEC) service.
Incidents that are notified to the Commission can range from the very minor through to the serious. The Commission can also receive multiple notifications and/or complaints relating to the same matter.
Approved providers are required to notify the Commission of complaints they receive alleging that certain incidents or breaches of law have occurred. The Commission also receives complaints directly from complainants, some of which will relate to the same incidents.
All complaints and notifications are assessed and investigated as necessary.
The Commission began operation on 1 December 2025, after the Q1 2025-26 FY reporting period.
Complaints made directly to the regulatory authority
The table below shows the number of complaints made directly to the NSW ECEC Regulatory Authority in Q1, 2025–26 FY. Figures for earlier quarters are provided for comparison.
| Type of data | This quarter (Q1, 2025–26 FY) | Previous quarter (Q4, 2024–25 FY) | Same quarter last FY (Q1, 2024–25 FY) | % change on same quarter last year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct complaints | 1,154 | 889 | 814 | 42 |
Notifications of incidents or complaints
The table below shows the number of notifications of incident and complaints received by the NSW ECEC Regulatory Authority in Q1, 2025–26 FY. Figures for earlier quarters are provided for comparison.
| Notification type | This quarter (Q1, 2025–26 FY) | Previous quarter (Q4, 2024–25 FY) | Same quarter last FY (Q1, 2024–25 FY) | % change on same quarter last year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complaint | 1,207 | 1,086 | 794 | 52 |
| Incident | 2,965 | 2,817 | 2,761 | 7 |
| Total | 4,172 | 3,903 | 3,555 | 59 |