NSW and Victoria Now Require Services to Display Quality and Compliance History

Transparency obligations have arrived state by state rather than nationally, so a multi-state provider is working to different rules that started on different dates.

New South Wales

Under section 172(3) and (4) of the National Law as it applies in NSW, services must display their compliance and quality history. The Ministerial guideline issued on 6 November 2025 sets the short-form template as the prescribed form. The requirement took effect immediately, and the regulator said it would begin considering formal compliance action two weeks later.

The display must:

• cover the past two years of compliance history as it appears in the approved provider view of NQA ITS
• include the current and previous quality rating
• include compliance actions that are under review
• include prosecutions of the provider or nominated supervisor where there is a plea of guilt, a finding of guilt or a conviction

Services with no compliance history or no rating yet must still display the template.

Victoria

From 12 August 2026, all approved providers regulated under the National Quality Framework in Victoria must display the quality and compliance history of each service. It applies to long day care, standalone kindergarten, family day care, outside school hours care and vacation care. It does not apply to occasional care or limited hours services.

The display must show the current and previous overall quality rating with the date each was issued, two years of compliance history, and any prosecutions against the approved provider or nominated supervisor. It must use VECRA’s approved template and be clearly visible from the main entrance. A QR code cannot replace the printed copy.

Family day care must display the information at the entrance to each residence, each venue and the office. VECRA emailed providers the information to display ahead of the start date. From there, the provider is responsible for keeping it accurate and up to date.

Penalties are significant. VECRA can issue an infringement notice of $15,480 to a large provider, and a court can impose up to $154,800.

Where the risk sits

Not in the initial display. In keeping it current.

A rating changes. A compliance action is added. A new residence joins a family day care service. Each of those events starts a 7 day clock to update a physical notice at a physical location, and none of them generates an automatic reminder.

For a single centre this is manageable. For a provider running twelve services and forty family day care residences, it is a distributed task with no natural owner.

What to do

• confirm which of your services are covered, and from what date, in each state you operate in
• use the regulator’s template where one is prescribed. Do not design your own
• name one person per service who owns the display, and record who that is
• add “update the display within 7 days” to the checklist that runs after any rating change or compliance action
• for family day care, keep a list of every venue, residence and office where the information must appear, and reconcile it whenever an educator joins or leaves
• keep a dated photograph of each display. It is the cheapest evidence available

If your next assessment is coming up, our guide to assessment and rating preparation covers what happens before a new rating lands on the wall.

Sources

• VECRA, Displaying quality and compliance history (vecra.vic.gov.au)
• NSW Ministerial guideline, Compliance history publication responsibilities (6 November 2025) (education.nsw.gov.au)
• NSW Department of Education, Child safety reforms (education.nsw.gov.au)

This article provides general information for Australian ECEC services and approved providers. It does not constitute legal, regulatory or professional advice. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, service type and individual circumstances. Providers should confirm their obligations with ACECQA, their state or territory regulatory authority and qualified professional advisers.