A ‘post visit survey’ is sent to every service following an assessment and rating visit. The service has 10 business days to complete the survey, which is an opportunity to provide feedback about assessment and rating, including the visit itself. Survey responses are used by the NSW ECEC Regulatory Authority leadership team for reflection and to make improvements to our practice and streamline assessment and rating processes. Responses are not shared with the authorised officer and have no bearing on the service assessment and rating outcomes.

Feedback or complaints about the NSW ECEC Regulatory Authority or its staff can be raised via email ececd@det.nsw.edu.au or by calling 1800 619 113. Further Information can also be found in our complaints handling policy.

Following the assessment and rating visit, the authorised officer/s will review the evidence obtained through what they have observed, sighted and discussed against each element of the National Quality Standard and related regulatory requirements.

Using this information, the authorised officer will prepare a draft assessment and rating report with provisional ratings for each quality are and an overall rating for the service.

The draft assessment and rating report goes through a ‘peer review’ process before being submitted for a final review and approval. These steps ensure that evidence is sufficient, relevant and aligned appropriately to each standard and that ratings awarded reflect the evidence.

This draft report is issued to the approved provider for review and to consider whether any feedback needs to be provided and considered by the authorised officer prior to the final rating being issued.

The approved provider has an opportunity to provide feedback on the draft report and ratings prior to the final report and quality ratings being issued.

Feedback on the report, along with associated evidence, can be submitted if the approved provider identifies a factual inaccuracy or critical omissions from the report. This may include if an approved provider disagrees with the rating based on the evidence described or has additional information about the evidence referred to in the draft report.

Approved providers have 10 working days from the date the draft report was issued to submit feedback. Where feedback is not provided, the service final assessment and rating report will be issued.

Before deciding to submit feedback, and supporting evidence, on the draft assessment and rating report, providers are encouraged to:

• read the draft report carefully, including the evidence summary and rating outcome summary which includes the draft ratings for each quality area, analysis notes and quality improvement planning notes and resources
• contact the authorised officer who conducted the visit to clarify anything in the report or process you are unsure of
• identify any factual inaccuracies or critical omissions, along with evidence to support these.

Resources

• Providing effective feedback (PDF 112 KB)
• Assessment and rating draft report feedback template (DOCX 130 KB)

The regulatory authority will consider any feedback received on the draft report and associated evidence before issuing the final report and notice of quality ratings.

On receipt of any feedback relating to the draft report, the authorised officer will review each piece of evidence against the requested areas and determine if the evidence is sufficient to change the draft rating. A response to feedback report will be issued to the approved provider, along with the final report, using the responses below:

• evidence was already considered when developing your draft report, no change to rating
• evidence has been considered in conjunction with the draft report and there has been no change to the rating
• evidence has been considered in conjunction with the draft report as a result the rating has been changed
• evidence has been considered in conjunction with the draft report as a result an exceeding theme has been awarded although the overall rating for this standard has not changed.

Under the National Law and Regulations, approved providers may apply for a review of the service ratings based on available evidence.

There are 3 review options available to approved providers.

• First tier review: This is conducted by an independent panel within the NSW ECEC Regulatory Authority. First tier review requests must be submitted through National Quality Agenda IT System (NQA ITS) within 14 calendar days of the final assessment and rating report being issued.
• Second tier review: Approved providers can apply to ACECQA for a second tier review after a first tier review has been completed, and they have received notice of the first tier review decision outcome. A second tier review is conducted by a Ratings Review Panel formed by ACECQA. An application for a second tier review must be submitted with the prescribed payment within 14 calendar days of receiving the regulatory authority’s first tier review decision outcome.
• Reassessment and re-rating: Approved providers may apply to the NSW ECEC Regulatory Authority for a reassessment and re-rating of their service. A fee applies, and an application for reassessment can only be made once every 2 years. More information is available in the National Law (sections 138-139) and National Regulations (regulations 66-67).

Once the review period has ended, the services final quality ratings are published on the national registers on the ACECQA website and on the Starting Blocks website.