The Truth: The National Regulations Require Far Less Paperwork Than Many Services Produce

Despite the overwhelming volume of documentation educators are expected to complete, the National Law and National Regulations do not require endless observations, daily learning stories, or long‑form essays about children’s learning.

ACECQA’s own guidance for approved providers emphasises that documentation should be meaningful, authentic, and free from duplication, and that educators should use professional judgment when deciding what to record.

The National Regulations themselves focus on program visibility, child information, and records for safety and compliance, not excessive narrative documentation.

What Documentation Is Actually Required?

Below is a breakdown of the minimum documentation required under the National Regulations and ACECQA guidance.

Educational Program Documentation (Regulations 73–76)

Services must:

Provide an educational program based on an approved learning framework (EYLF)
Keep documentation that shows:
- The program
- How the program is delivered
- Each child’s learning and development is being assessed or evaluated as part of an ongoing cycle

What is not required:

Daily learning stories
One observation per child per week
Long narrative documentation
Photos for every experience
Portfolios filled with duplicated evidence

ACECQA explicitly states that documentation should avoid duplication and should be streamlined to reduce workload.

Child Records (Regulations 158–162)

These include:

Enrolment records
Authorisations
Attendance records
Medical management plans
Incident, injury, trauma, and illness records
Medication records

These are compliance and safety documents, not curriculum documentation.

Health, Safety, and Administrative Records

Required records include:

Staff rosters
Risk assessments
Emergency and evacuation procedures
Policies and procedures (including updates required under new regulatory changes)

Again—these are operational, not pedagogical.

What the EYLF Requires (and Doesn’t Require)

The EYLF requires educators to:

Plan for children’s learning
Assess and evaluate learning
Reflect on practice

It does not prescribe:

How many observations to write
What format documentation must take
How often documentation must be produced

What Are Examples Of Documentation That Is Required

Planning, assessing/evaluating, and reflecting do not require long essays. They can be demonstrated through simple program plans, brief notes showing what children learned, and short reflections about what worked and what needs adjusting. These tasks can be completed in minimal, meaningful formats.

Plan for Children’s Learning—What Counts as “Planning”?

Planning simply means showing how you intend to support children’s learning using the EYLF. It does not require daily stories or long documentation.

Examples of acceptable planning (minimal + meaningful):

Weekly program plan with experiences linked to children’s interests (e.g., “Children exploring rocks → add sorting trays + magnifiers).
Daily adjustments written briefly (e.g., “Extend block play tomorrow—strong interest today”).
Individual planning notes (1–2 lines), such as
- “Ava is showing interest in letters; add name cards to the writing table.”
Environment planning (e.g., “Quiet corner added for children needing sensory regulation”).
Group planning based on observed needs (e.g., “Many children struggling with turn‑taking → plan cooperative games”).

These align with the planning cycle examples in the search results, which emphasise observing, analysing, planning, implementing, and reflecting as a continuous, flexible cycle.

Assess and Evaluate Learning—What Counts as “Assessment”?

Assessment is simply noticing what children are learning and recording it in a way that shows progress over time. It does not require weekly observations or long learning stories.

Examples of minimal assessment/evaluation:

A short observation (2–3 sentences) describing what a child did and what it means.
A photo with a brief caption (e.g., “Luca used positional language while building — shows spatial awareness”).
A learning analysis box on the program (e.g., “Children demonstrated problem‑solving during water play”).
Anecdotal notes collected over time (e.g., sticky notes, digital snippets).
Portfolio samples with a sentence about learning (e.g., “This drawing shows improved pencil control”).
Check‑ins during the APDR cycle (Assess–Plan–Do–Review), which supports continuous improvement and responsiveness.

Assessment is about progress, not volume.

Reflect on Practice—What Counts as “Reflection”?

Reflection is simply thinking about what worked, what didn’t, and what you’ll change. It can be extremely brief.

Examples of minimal reflection:

End‑of‑week reflection (3–4 sentences):
- “Outdoor play was highly engaging; extend water play next week. Group time was too long — shorten to 5 minutes.”
Daily quick notes (e.g., “Children needed more sensory options today — add playdough tomorrow”).
Team reflection during meetings (dot points).
Critical reflection prompts (e.g., “How did we support inclusion today?”).
APDR cycle review notes (e.g., “Plan worked well; continue next week”).
Environment reflection (e.g., “Quiet area not used—reposition cushions”).

Reflection does not need to be formal or lengthy—ACECQA emphasizes that it should be authentic, ongoing, and responsive, not burdensome.

Why These Examples Meet the Requirements

The search results highlight that:

The planning cycle involves observing, analysing, planning, implementing, and reflecting in simple, practical ways.
Assessment and reflection should be ongoing, flexible, and responsive, not rigid or excessive.
Observation and documentation are meant to support learning, not overwhelm educators.

These examples meet the National Regulations (73–76) because they show:

A program
Evidence of assessment/evaluation
Reflection on practice

— all without unnecessary paperwork.

What About Child Observations? Are They Required For Individual Planning?

Yes — but not in the way most services think.

The National Regulations (73–76) require you to:

assess each child’s learning and development
use that assessment to plan for their learning

BUT they do not require:

a certain number of observations
long narrative stories
weekly or monthly quotas
photos
digital uploads
duplicated evidence

A child observation can be tiny, informal, and written in any format that works for your team.

What Counts As An “Observation” For Individual Planning?

Anything that shows you noticed something about a child’s learning, interest, behaviour, or development.

Here are examples that fully meet the requirement:

1–2 sentence anecdotal notes

“Ava sorted rocks by size today — shows emerging classification skills.”
“Leo asked for help with zips — needs fine motor support.”

A sticky note or quick jot

“Mika fascinated by insects → plan bug hunt next week.”

A photo with a caption

“Luca used positional language while building (‘under’, ‘next to’).”

A dot point on the weekly program

“Child interest: water play — extend with funnels + tubes.”

A conversation recorded briefly

“Ella said she wants to learn to write her name → add name card.”

A learning sample

A drawing, construction, or mark‑making sample with a one‑line note.

All of these count as observations. None require a separate template unless your service chooses to use one.

How Observations Link To Individual Planning (The Simplest Cycle)

Here’s the minimal, compliant cycle:

1. Observe

A short note:

“Kai is showing interest in counting.”

2. Plan

Add to the weekly program under “Individual Intentions”:

“Kai — counting interest → add counting songs + bead threading.”

3. Implement

You do the planned experience.

4. Reflect (briefly)

“Kai engaged well — continue next week.”

That’s it. This meets the entire planning cycle and the regulatory requirements.

Where Do Observations Go?

You have two options — both compliant.

Option A: On the weekly program (most streamlined)

Add a small section: “Child Observations / Noticing” and jot notes there.

Option B: On a separate quick‑note sheet

A single page for the week where educators jot observations as they happen.

Both are valid. Neither requires long stories or digital uploads.

How many observations are required?

There is no number in the Regulations or EYLF. The requirement is simply:

ongoing
meaningful
used to inform planning

If you observe a child once and plan from it, that is compliant. If you observe them three times in a month, also compliant. If you observe them through conversation, play, or samples — also compliant.

The Key Principle

Observations exist to inform planning — not to fill portfolios. If you can show the link between:

Observation → Planning → Implementation → Reflection, you are meeting the requirement.

The Gap Between Regulation and Reality

Despite minimal regulatory requirements, many services impose:

Weekly observation quotas
Mandatory photo uploads
Long learning stories
Duplicated evidence across multiple platforms
Unnecessary compliance “proof” tasks

This creates a paperwork burden that is not required by law and actively pulls educators away from children.

Why This Matters

Quality of care: Time spent documenting is time not spent engaging with children.
Well-being: Excessive paperwork contributes to burnout and attrition.
Continuity of learning: Portfolios, program plans, and educator reflections already show growth—duplication is unnecessary.
Family engagement: Families value meaningful communication, not lengthy essays.

What Could Change (Within the Existing Regulations)

Streamline documentation to program plans, brief assessments, and portfolios.
Reduce duplication across platforms and formats.
Use educator judgment as ACECQA recommends.
Shift from “proof” to practice, focusing on what children actually experience.
Advocate for ratio reform, because documentation pressure is amplified by stretched staffing.

Reflection Questions for Teams

Which documentation do we do because it’s required—and which because “we’ve always done it”?
Are we documenting for children and families or for compliance?
What evidence of learning feels authentic and meaningful?
How do our ratios impact our ability to document meaningfully?
What would change if we trusted educators’ professional judgment?
How can we advocate for systemic reform that prioritises educator well-being?

The National Regulations require far less documentation than many services believe.

The real mandate is simple:

A visible program
Evidence of ongoing assessment
Records that support safety and compliance

Everything else is service‑imposed. The sector doesn’t need more paperwork—it needs trust, better ratios, and documentation that reflects real learning, not box‑ticking.