August 7th, 2026
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Members would be aware of ACA NSW's years-long attempt to have Regulation 272(2)-(5) about how many and when are early childhood teachers (ECTs) required by the NSW Department of Education and/or the NSW Regulatory Authority.
With the confusion emanating from the phrase "... must be in attendance at all times ...", must the number of ECTs required be determined by the number of children enrolled, potentially attending, in attendance and also relative to the operating hours at long daycare services?
Since the introduction of the National Quality Framework in January 2012, the interpretation has been made largely by the NSW Authorised Officers that have not been consistent.
272 Early childhood teachers—children preschool age or under
(2) One early childhood teacher must be in attendance at all times that a centre-based service is educating and caring for 30 to 39 children preschool age or under.
(3) Two early childhood teachers must be in attendance at all times that a centre-based service is educating and caring for 40 to 59 children preschool age or under.
(4) Three early childhood teachers must be in attendance at all times that a centre-based service is educating and caring for 60 to 79 children preschool age or under.
(5) Four early childhood teachers must be in attendance at all times that a centre-based service is educating and caring for 80 or more children preschool age or under.
The NSW Early Learning Commission has written that:
"Regulation 272 is a NSW-specific regulation that provides ratios for the number of early childhood teachers required to be in attendance at a centre-based service.
The number of early childhood teachers required under regulation 272(2)-(5) is calculated based on the number of children in attendance, rather than the number of children the service is approved for, or that are enrolled at the service.
This means that the number of early childhood teachers required to be in attendance at the service as stipulated under regulation 272 is relative and in ratio to the number of children in actual attendance at that given time. Therefore, the number of early childhood teachers required on any given day may change as the number of children in actual attendance changes."
Sadly, for long daycare services, this can mean ECTs working outside of typical preschool hours (eg 9 am to 3 pm only on weekdays and not during school holidays). And for the 3,713 long daycare services across NSW, this clarification can impact:
the 4 NSW-based long daycare services that operate 24 hours a day;
the 2,420 NSW-based long daycare services that open between 5 am and 7.30 am;
the 459 NSW-based long daycare services that will close between 6.01 pm and 7.00 pm; and
the up to 53 NSW-based long daycare services that operate on Saturdays and/or Sundays.
The NSW Productivity Commissioner did publish his report that "... the cost of NSW maintaining requirements above the national standards equates to around $3,000 a year [more] for each child attending [early childhood education and care]." The same report also did not show any systemic superior children's outcomes that could justify the higher regulatory requirements imposed in NSW.
The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) results for NSW from 2012 to 2024 were similarly not encouraging.
And under freedom of information, the NSW Department of Education confirmed that they never had any documents on children's benefits that support Regulation 272's requirements.
For clarity, ACA NSW is not seeking to reduce the number of ECTs required but to have reasonable flexibilities for ECTs while achieving positive outcomes for all children. It is also important to note that all NSW-based long daycare services must still comply with their educators:children ratios as outlined in Regulation 123. Moreover, NSW does not have "under the roof" ratios primarily due to Regulation 122.
So, while we thank the NSW Early Learning Commissioner for his clarification (that is long overdue), we ask if compliance is his focus at the expense of calibration, credibility and consistency for purpose, results and children's outcomes.
For any further information/clarification, members can contact the ACA NSW team via 1300 556 330 or nsw@childcarealliance.org.au.
PUBLISHED: 7 AUGUST 2026
