Enforcement Action in ECEC Services: Progress, Challenges, and the Voices of Educators

Child care enforcement hits record highs, but educators call for lower ratios, fair pay, and faster inclusion support to truly lift standards.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare recently announced that enforcement action in the child care sector has reached record levels. At the same time, the proportion of services meeting or exceeding the National Quality Standard (NQS) is at its highest point since the framework was introduced. Clare described this as evidence that reforms and stronger enforcement powers are “working to lift standards,” while acknowledging that “there is more to do.”

Current Data

• Record enforcement activity: More services are being investigated and sanctioned than ever before.
• Improved compliance: National Quality Standard ratings show a steady rise in services meeting or exceeding expectations.
• Government stance: Enforcement is positioned as a key driver of quality improvement.

Challenges Raised by Educators

Despite the positive compliance data, educators across the sector highlight persistent structural issues:

• Ratios: Calls to lower ratios are widespread. Educators argue that current requirements—such as 1:11 for preschoolers—make it impossible to provide safe, individualized care. Suggested changes include reducing ratios to 1:7 for preschoolers and strengthening infant ratios beyond 1:4.
  
  
• Pay and recognition: Wages remain a critical concern. Many educators report burnout and attrition, noting that pay does not reflect the responsibility of safeguarding and educating young children.
  
  
• Inclusion support: Services face long delays (up to 12 weeks) when applying for inclusion funding. Educators stress that children requiring immediate support cannot wait for bureaucratic processes.
• Family Day Care viability: Family day care educators warn that stricter ratios could undermine their ability to operate, despite small group settings often exceeding quality benchmarks.

Enforcement vs. Resourcing

Sector voices caution that enforcement alone cannot raise standards. While compliance checks and penalties may remove poor practice, they do not address underlying issues of staffing, training, and resources. As one educator noted, “Standards aren’t raised from administering punishments—they’re raised through investment in qualifications, smaller group sizes, and adequate funding.”

Recommendations

• Policy review of ratios to align with international best practice and educator feedback.
  
  
• Fair pay structures to reduce attrition and recognize professional responsibility.
  Streamlined inclusion funding processes to ensure timely support for children with additional needs.
  
  
• Balanced enforcement and resourcing so that compliance measures are matched with investment in workforce and infrastructure.

The debate underscores a critical tension in early childhood education: balancing enforcement with resourcing. Record compliance levels are encouraging, but educators insist that without structural reforms, lower ratios, fair pay, and accessible inclusion support, the sector will continue to struggle. Enforcement may lift standards on paper, but sustainable quality requires investment in people and practice.

Further Reading 

Understanding the NSW Early Learning Commission Charter
30 Childcare Centres Hit with Compliance Notices Under New Federal Powers
Major Shake-Up in Childcare Sector: Tougher Fines, Transparency Rules After Breach Exposé

Reference

Enforcement Action In The Child Care Sector Is At Record Highs