Child Care Subsidy rates are changing soon. 

You can search for a children’s education and care service using the 

 and compare services vacancies, fees, National Quality Standard (NQS) quality ratings and inclusions

How can our Find Child Care tool help you?

 to estimate your out-of-pocket costs and Child Care Subsidy (CCS) entitlements.

This quick and easy tool takes less than 2 minutes to use.

How can our Subsidy Calculator tool help you?

 helps you find the service types regulated under Australia's National Quality Framework (NQF):

What are the different types of services in Australia?

 sets a high national benchmark for early childhood education and care and outside school hours care services in Australia.

 and see its NQS quality rating in the results. 

The government regulatory authorities in states and territories assess and rate services against these seven NQS quality areas:

6. Collaborative partnerships with families and communities

Services are given ratings for each of the seven quality areas as well as an overall service quality rating, and we display all of these.

How can you find NQS service quality ratings?

If a service is rated Working Towards NQS, it is providing safe education and care on its journey to higher quality in one or more NQS quality areas.

To ensure the health and safety of children, our national regulatory system sets a high bar for services to be rated Meeting the National Quality Standard (NQS).

 is not a pass-fail system, it encourages every service to keep getting better and better. 

What does a service rating of Working Towards NQS mean?

Education Ministers have asked The Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) to build a new, National Early Childhood Worker Register to give regulators better visibility of who is working in the sector and where. The Register will better support the existing role of regulatory authorities to monitor, identify and respond to risk with respect to persons working in children’s education and care.

Find out more about the National Early Childhood Worker Register 

How will the register help keep children safe in children’s education and care services?

The register will give regulators better visibility of who is working in the sector and where, at a national level. This will better support their existing roles to monitor, identify and respond to risk with respect to persons working in the sector.

In 2026, all governments will consider potential future enhancements to the Register, including to support approved providers in their pivotal role in recruiting and maintaining a quality, child safe workforce.

The register is just one of a suite of reforms and initiatives that all 9 governments are progressing to ensure children’s education and services are even safer and more supportive so children can thrive.

Further information on current national child safety reforms and national actions can be found on 

How will I know that staff at my child's service have been included in the register?

Approved providers already have a legislative obligation under the Education and Care Services National Law to collect and maintain staff information. The information that is already required to be held and maintained by approved providers about staff will now be captured in the register and made visible to all state and territory regulators including:

identity (name, date of birth, any alias and/or former names) and contact information

place of employment (linked to service details, and residence/venue location for family day care services) and date of commencement / date of employment cessation

whether they are employed directly or indirectly (e.g. through a recruitment agency) at the service

relevant qualifications held (and if applicable, that the staff member is ‘actively working towards’ that qualification, or is counted in ratios by virtue of a probationary period) 

approved training completed (including first aid training)

current Working With Children or Vulnerable People Check’s identifying number (or state equivalent) and expiry or teacher registration (where applicable).

Can I check a staff member’s qualifications and Working With Children Check status?

No. The register will not verify an individual’s qualifications or Working With Children or Vulnerable People Checks.

An approved provider will continue to be responsible for verifying and maintaining records of their staff's qualifications, training and Working With Children / Vulnerable Person Checks. This includes ensuring that individuals meet the minimum qualification requirements under the Education and Care Services National Law and Education and National Regulations and hold a valid Working With Children or Vulnerable Person Check, as required by state and territory legislation.

What information will be included in future stages of the register, and when?

This is still to be determined; however, all governments have agreed that ACECQA will also commence scoping work – alongside the initial establishment of the Register – to provide advice on options for the evolution of later stages of the Register.

Future stages of the register will be subject to agreement by Education Ministers, and may consider:

robust identification verification processes, including through the potential establishment of an educator portal

integrations with Working With Children / Vulnerable Persons Checks and similar agencies (i.e. reportable conduct)

other information to support an approved provider’s employee screening processes

the potential to evolve to become an educator registration scheme, better recognising the professional status of certificate III and diploma qualified educators. This will consider options to support in-service professional learning,

The new National Early Childhood Worker Register

How services update their fees and vacancies on StartingBlocks.gov.au

How do I update my service's details on StartingBlocks.gov.au?

 search results include service phone numbers and email addresses, so you can call or email them to book a visit.

How can you book a service visit?

You can contact your state/territory regulatory authority. 

They’re responsible for approving providers and services, assessing and rating services, compliance and promoting continuous improvement.

How can you complain about a service?

 to help children with additional needs participate in early childhood education and care. It provides tailored support and funding to services to address barriers to inclusion.

 in each state and territory deliver the program. These agencies provide support and advice to early childhood education and care services to help them address barriers to inclusion.

How can services help children with additional needs?

 resources provide information on our national regulatory system, service quality ratings, health and safety, educational programs, what to expect and transition to school.

 resources provide information about supporting your child's early years learning and development, parenting, health and safety. 

How can our resources help you?

You can email us a question or feedback anytime.

Under our Customer Service Charter, we work hard to answer your questions as quickly as we can and the response time is often less than 5 days.

Frequently Asked Questions