Legal requirements for child care providers in Queensland

As a child care provider in Queensland, your legal requirements depend on the type of service you offer.

National Quality Framework

Most services are approved and regulated under the National Quality Framework (NQF). These include:

  • kindergarten
  • long day care
  • outside school hours care
  • family day care.

Learn more about the requirements for services under the NQF.

Education and Care Service Act

A small number of services are not captured under the NQF and are instead regulated under the Education and Care Services Act 2013 (Qld) (ECS Act). These include:

  • limited hours care, funded by the Queensland Government
  • occasional care
  • certain services, if on 30 June 2018 the service was in receipt of funding under the Budget Based Funding Program (administered by the Australian Government's Department of Education) and the service was not approved for the purposes of the family assistance law
  • early childhood education and care services that are also disability services under the Disability Services Act 2006 (Qld)
  • stand-alone care services.

Learn more about the requirements for services under the ECS Act.

Unregulated services

Certain types of child care are not regulated in Queensland. Generally, these include, but are not limited to:

  • personal arrangements (e.g. care shared by parents or provided by family members)
  • care in a child's home
  • activity-specific classes, coaching or tuition
  • hotel or resort care
  • conference, sport facility or shopping centre care
  • mobile services
  • transition to school programs
  • vacation care offered for not more than 4 weeks per year
  • care provided by nannies or babysitters.

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