Annual report 2022-23

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Letters of Introduction

From the Presiding Member

I am pleased to present my first Annual Report for the Education Standards Board.

The Board and I would like to thank the previous Presiding Member, Ann Doolette, for her contribution and expertise.

Ann first became involved with the Board in late 2016 and served as Presiding Member from December 2019 until September 2022.Since commencing as the Presiding Member in
November 2022, I have been impressed by the team’s commitment and dedication to achieving the Board’s vision.

The Board has overseen the development of the organisation’s Early Childhood Regulatory Strategy to ensure we continue to allocate our regulatory resources to monitor and respond to areas of highest regulatory risk.

In addition, the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care provided us with a valuable opportunity to evaluate our performance and the sector’s performance in meeting the National Quality Framework objectives and we welcome its findings.

We are committed to continuous improvement right across our functions and enhancing public confidence in the operation of education and early childhood services providers.

Alana Girvin
Presiding Member

From the Chief Executive

The past year has been one of reflection and resetting expectations for the Board and I’d like to acknowledge the team’s engagement and commitment to learning and adapting to new ways of working during this time.

In 2022-2023 we implemented a series of policies and strategies to increase transparency and enhance public confidence in the operation of the Board. We clarified both the role of regulated parties and our role as the regulator in our Regulatory Practice Statement.

We released our Compliance and Enforcement policy to articulate our role in supporting regulated parties to achieve and maintain voluntary compliance, and to provide clarity on how we respond to non-compliance.

We also released our regulatory priorities and targets for January 2023 to June 2024. It identifies where we will allocate our regulatory resources to ensure the
safety, health and wellbeing of children and to demonstrate our proactive approach to risk-based regulation.

The Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care acknowledges the need for the Board to improve its performance and we remain committed to improving our regulatory practice to enhance regulatory outcomes.

Our commitment to review services that have not been rated under the 2018 National Quality Standard is our priority area for improvement.

I look forward to strengthening our performance in regulating education and early childhood services in a manner that maintains high standards of education and
care.

It continues to be an extraordinary privilege to be the Chief Executive of the Board and I am honored to work with the Presiding Member, Board Members and
employees.

Kerry Leaver
Chief Executive and Registrar

Overview: About the Education Standards Board

The Education and Early Childhood Services (Registration and Standards) Board, known as the Education Standards Board (the Board), was established in 2012 under the Education and Early Childhood Services (Registration and Standards) Act 2011 (State Act). The employees of the board are commonly referred to as the ESB.

The Board is an independent statutory authority responsible for the registration and regulation of early childhood services, and registration of schools for domestic and
overseas students. The Board is responsible to the Minister for Education, Training and Skills, to ensure efficient and effective performance of its registration and
regulatory responsibilities, compliance with its legislative objectives, sound management of the organisation, and attainment of performance objectives.

The Board’s functions are set out under section 29 of the State Act and, as the state regulatory authority for early childhood education and care, the Board has specific functions under section 260 of the Education and Care Services National Law (South Australia) (National Law SA) which is adopted under the State Act.

The Board delegates regulatory powers and functions, human resources and financial management to the Chief Executive and Registrar, with further delegations to employees of the Board.

Why we regulate

Access to high quality education and care services can contribute to better social, educational and employment outcomes across a child’s lifespan.

The Board’s priority is to minimise any risks to the safety, health and wellbeing of children. We respond with regulatory action that is proportionate to the risks and
harms being addressed.

We regulate the provision of education and early childhood services in a manner that maintains high standards of competence and conduct by providers to:

  • recognise that all children should have access to high quality education and early childhood facilities and services
  • provide for a diverse range of services
  • recognise the rights of parents to access a diverse range of service providers
  • enhance public confidence in the operation of education and early childhood services.

Our regulatory framework

The Board operates under three distinct regulatory frameworks:

Early childhood education and care

We regulate early childhood education and care services under the National Quality Framework (NQF), including long day care, family day care, preschools and outside school hours care (OSHC).

The National Quality Framework includes:

  • Education and Care Services National Law 2010 (National Law)
  • Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011
  • National Quality Standard (NQS)
  • The assessment and rating process
  • Approved learning frameworks.

Our regulatory activities under the NQF include assessing provider and service applications, waiver applications, assessment and rating against the NQS and proactively monitoring regulated parties’ compliance with the NQF. 

We respond to notifications and complaints received under the NQF, by undertaking investigations and recommending statutory and administrative compliance action, consistent with our Compliance and Enforcement policy

The agency also provides practical and constructive information and advice on how regulated parties can achieve and maintain voluntary compliance under their regulatory obligations and manage existing and emerging regulatory risk.

Early childhood services that do not fall within the scope of the NQF are known as residual services and are also subject to regulation under Schedule 2 of the State Act. These include in-home care, mobile care and occasional services. 

Residual services are regulated through a modified use of the National Law and through service-specific regulations and standards. 

Schools

We regulate all government and non-government schools providing primary and secondary education, including state government, Catholic and independent schools. 

Our regulatory activities for schools include determining provider applications, maintaining the schools register under the State Act and reviewing registration against the Standards for Registration and Review of Registration of Schools in South Australia

International education

We endorse schools to provide education services to overseas students for registration on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) and register and monitor organisations that operate student exchange programs. 

Our strategic focus

Our vision:

To make a positive difference to the lives of South Australian children and young people by ensuring they have access to high quality education and early childhood services.

Our values

Honesty and integrity

We are consistent and fair in our actions to encourage openness and transparency

Professionalism

We have a culture that strives for excellence and aims to improve productivity

Sustainability

We respond to change and proactively improve

Collaboration and engagement

We collaborate in our work practices

Accountability

We make decisions that comply with legislation, are ethical and consistent with approved policy and procedure

Our organisational structure

Our Organisational Structure

Our board members

The Board comprises 13 members appointed by the Governor in Executive Council on the nomination of the Minister for Education, Training and Skills. Of those members:

  • One (who will be the presiding member) must be a person who has, in the opinion of the Minister, extensive knowledge and expertise in the education and care of children
  • Two must be from the Department for Education
  • Two must be from the Association of Independent Schools of South Australia (AISSA)
  • Two must be from the South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools Incorporated
  • Two must be from a prescribed childcare body; and
  • One must be a legal practitioner.

Expressions of interest are called for the remaining member positions.

Name

Appointment type

First appointed

Ms Alana Girvin, Presiding Member

Ministerial

November 2022

Mr Greg Hayes, Deputy Presiding Member

Expression of interest

February 2020

Mr Martyn Campbell

Expression of interest

November 2022

Mr John Favretto

SA Commission for Catholic Schools

March 2023

Ms Sue Kennedy-Branford

SA Commission for Catholic Schools

March 2023

Mr Noel Mifsud

Expression of Interest

February 2020

Mr Christos Tsonis

Legal Practitioner

February 2020

Mr Chistopher Prance

Association of Independent Schools SA

July 2021

Dr Peta Smith

Department for Education

June 2020

Ms Anna Standish

Prescribed Childcare Body

January 2021

Ms Rebecca Vandermoer

Prescribed Childcare Body

November 2022

Ms Elizabeth Worrell

Association of Independent Schools of South Australia

March 2021

The following members resigned during the 2022-2023 year

Ms Ann Doolette, Presiding Member

Expression of Interest

March 2018

(resigned September 2022)

Ms Mandy Richardson

Out of School Hours Care SA

December 2014

(resigned July 2022)

Ms Susan Young

SA Commission for Catholic Schools

March 2021

(resigned December 2022)

Mr John Mula

SA Commission for Catholic Schools

July 2021

(resigned February 2023)

Ms Jacqueline Bray

Department for Education

November 2022

(resigned May 2023

Our Executive

Kerry Leaver
Chief Executive and Registrar

Kerry is the Early Childhood Services Registrar, Government Schools Registrar, Non-Government Schools Registrar and Chief Executive, responsible for carrying out the functions of the Registrar roles and the Chief Executive as determined by the Board.

Sean Heffernan
Director, Regulatory Practice and Operations

Sean leads the Early Childhood Services group, including Quality Assurance, Compliance and Investigations, and Policy and Engagement. Sean commenced in this newly created role on 5 June 2023. 

Changes to the agency 

During 2022-23 the agency created a new executive role to support the Chief Executive and Registrar in the strategic leadership of the Early Childhood Services group. 

Our Minister

The Honourable Blair Boyer MP was appointed in March 2022 as the Minister for Education, Training and Skills.

Other related agencies (within the Minister’s areas of responsibility)

  • Department for Education 
  • TAFE SA
  • South Australian Certificate of Education Board of South Australia
  • Teachers Registration Board of South Australia
  • Child Development Council
  • Skills SA.

The agency’s performance

Performance at a glance

In 2022-23, the agency regulated the early childhood, schools and international education sectors with a risk-based and proportionate approach that aligns with our strategic priorities for 2022-24 through the following actions:

  • performed 317 service visits within the early childhood sector to administer our legislative obligations
  • undertook 37 visits for validation reviews of school registration and 4 visits for change to registration assessments or evaluations
  • increased the percentage of services rated under the 2018 National Quality Standards from 38% to 45%
  • published our Regulatory Practice Statement and Compliance and Enforcement Policy
  • published our Regulatory Priorities and Targets to support our transparency and outcomes focused principles
  • responded to the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care through participation in roundtables and formal submissions communicated changes to the National Quality Framework and provided resources and guidance to regulated parties about changes to the law and approved learning frameworks. 

Contribution to whole of government objectives

The agency contributes to South Australian Government initiatives to ensure universal access to quality preschool for families with three-and-four-year-old children and accessible education for children of school age by: 

  • monitoring early childhood services through quality assessment and compliance monitoring within the NQF to promote consistency in services across South Australia
  • monitoring schools against the standards of registration to provide accessible, quality education from reception to year 12. 

Agency specific objectives and performance

As articulated in the agency’s Strategic Plan 2022-24, our strategic priorities are to:

  • regulate schools, student exchange organisations, and early childhood education and care services with a risk and standards based approach
  • positively engage with stakeholders
  • support our people and improve our business.

Performance against these objectives as at 30 June 2023 is summarised below.

Objective 1: Regulate schools, student exchange organisations, and early childhood education and care with a risk and standards-based approach

Agency objectives

Indicators

Performance

Execute Early Childhood Regulatory Strategy 2022

From 1 July 2022 to 31 December 2022 under the National Quality Framework (NQF):

•    Assess and rate 52 services.

•    Perform 232 monitoring visits.

•    Assessed and rated 73 services.

•    Performed 91 monitoring visits as assessment and rating activities were prioritised.


 

Execute Early Childhood Regulatory Strategy 2023-24

From 1 January 2023 – 30 June 2024 under the NQF:

•    15% of services rated against previous National Quality Standard (NQS) are assessed and rated under the current NQS.

•    100% of newly approved services have a post-approval visit within six months.

•    100% of newly approved services have an assessment and rating within 18 months of opening.

As at 30 June 2023:

•    Rated 7% of services under the current NQS.

•    Undertook post approval service visits for all newly approved services. 46% were visited within six months of commencement.

•    Assessed and rated all services within 18 months of opening.

Determine applications under the NQF

•    Assess and determine applications according to the law and regulatory principles, within legislative timeframes.

 

•    Received 1,019 applications.

•    Determined 95% of applications within legislated timeframes.

Respond to non-compliance against the NQF

•    Receive and assess incident notifications and complaints.

•    Record breaches of the National Law.

•    Issue administrative and statutory compliance actions.

•    Received 3,448 incident notifications.

•    All notifications requiring action were assessed within 24 hours of receipt.

•    Received 679 complaints, with 17% (118) resulting in compliance actions.

•    Recorded 1,273 breaches of the National Law and/or Regulations.

•    Issued 616 administrative and statutory compliance actions.

Regulate student exchange organisations

•    Assess applications for registration of student exchange organisations.

•    Issue ‘Acceptance Advice for Secondary Exchange Student’ forms as required.

•    Registered one new student exchange organisation and renewed registration for one student exchange organisation.

•    Issued 16 AASES forms between January and June 2023.

Register and review registration of schools

•    Assess changes to school registration applications.

•    Assess new school registration applications.

•    Assess requests to remove school registration.

•    Conduct 37 validation reviews of school registration.

 

•    Issued 21 schools with amended registration certificates, including registering eight new sub-campuses for existing schools.

•    Issued 1 new non-government school with a registration certificate.

•    Removed 8 schools from the schools register.

•    Conducted 37 validation reviews of school registration.

Influence legislation and policy for education and early childhood programs and services

•    Contribute to the Royal Commission for Early Childhood Education and Care.
•    Engage with co-and peer- regulators at a state and national level.

•    Chief Executive attended three stakeholder roundtables for three-year-old preschool, 2 stakeholder roundtables for OSHC and appeared as a witness at a public hearing. 

•    Convened the early childhood reference group three times to support and inform our regulatory practice.

•    The agency featured on seven national groups engaged in supporting:
    •    Regulatory practice
    •    Legislative reform, and
    •    National strategies.

Provide advice and guidance to regulated parties to promote voluntary compliance 

•    Inform the sector about their regulatory obligations and changes to the law.
•    Deliver professional development opportunities for regulated parties.

•    Published 12 regulatory bulletins and 24 targeted sector updates and alerts. 
•    Hosted a live regulatory forum on our regulatory priorities and strategy.
•    Engaged with higher risk providers to share regulatory performance data and promote voluntary compliance.
•    Engaged regularly with Department for Education to support voluntary compliance and share learnings. 
•    Collaborated with Early Childhood Australia to deliver a webinar on serious incident reporting 

Continually improve our practice

•    Build the capacity and capability of our employees.
•    Review and update processes, policies and procedures to improve efficiency and consistency.

•    Provided training and development in: 
    •    Risk management
    •    Regulatory practice
    •    Holding difficult conversations
    •    Performance management, and
    •    Coaching through change.

•    Undertook a comprehensive review of the corporate services function.
•    Implemented a performance management framework.
•    Developed or revised 20 policies and procedures.

Protect the welfare, health and safety of our team

•    Monitor our operating environment and work practices 

•    Undertook a risk assessment of psychosocial hazards and developed an action plan to reduce risks.

Demonstrate a commitment to reconciliation

•    Embed reconciliation practices into our processes and culture.

•    Provided reconciliation training as part of induction for all employees.
•    Updated a strategic objective to reflect the ongoing commitment to reconciliation.

Employment opportunity programs

Nil. 

Performance management and professional development

Employee performance is managed according to our Performance Management Framework which was reviewed and released in June 2023. The framework addresses a recommendation made in an external review of the Compliance and Investigations team in 2021. 

The review identified the organisation’s performance expectations, performance monitoring and defined measures of success for all employees require strengthening and improving. 

Ninety percent of employees completed a mid-year and end of year performance review with their line manager. 

Work health, safety and return to work programs 

Employee health and wellbeing

Our Employee Assistance Program offers employees three confidential professional and personal counselling sessions for themselves or an immediate family member, at no cost.

The Board also provides services such as influenza vaccination and internal communication about health and wellbeing topics.

Work health and safety management

The Work Health and Safety (WHS) Committee is the principle means by which the Education Standards Board consults and works collaboratively with employees to ensure a safe and healthy working environment.

The committee has representation from all teams and meets quarterly.

Injury management

The Board has a service level agreement with the Department for Education for management of injury claims. 

Workplace injury claims

2022-23

2021-22

% Change
(+ / -)

Total new workplace injury claims

0

0

n/a

Fatalities

0

0

n/a

Seriously injured workers*

0

0

n/a

Significant injuries (where lost time exceeds a working week, expressed as frequency rate per 1000 FTE)

1

1

0%*

*number of claimants assessed during the reporting period as having a whole person impairment of 30% or more under the Return to Work Act 2014 (Part 2 Division 5)
 

Return to work costs**

2022-23

2021-22

% Change
(+ / -)

Total gross workers compensation expenditure ($)

$771

$34,345

-97.8%

Income support payments – gross ($)

$35,215

$134,599

-73.8%

**before third-party recovery

Data for previous years is available at: Work health and safety and return to work performance of Education Standards Board - Dataset - data.sa.gov.au

Executive employment in the agency

Executive classification

Number of executives

Common law contract

2

Data for previous years is available at: Executive employment in Education Standards Board - Dataset - data.sa.gov.au

The Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment has a workforce information page that provides further information on the breakdown of executive gender, salary and tenure by agency.

Financial performance

Financial performance at a glance

The following is a brief summary of the overall financial position of the agency. The information is unaudited. Full audited financial statements for 2022-23 are attached to this report.

Statement of Comprehensive Income

2022-23 Budget

$000s

2022-23 Actual

$000s

Variation

$000s

 

2021-22

 Actual

$000s

Total Income

5,963

6,251

288

5,746

Total Expenses

5,963

5,833

130

5,726

Net Result

0

418

418

20

Total Comprehensive Result

0

418

418

20

Statement of Financial Position

2022-23 Budget

$000s

2022-23 Actual

$000s

Variation

$000s

 

2021-22

 Actual

$000s

Current assets

4,273

4,886

613

4,402

Non-current assets

24

0

-24

0

Total assets

4,297

4,886

589

4,402

Current liabilities

1,126

1,417

-291

1,141

Non-current liabilities

400

280

120

490

Total liabilities

1,526

1,697

-171

1,631

Net assets

2,771

3,173

418

2,771

Equity

2,771

3,173

418

2,771

Consultants' disclosure

The following is a summary of external consultants that have been engaged by the agency, the nature of work undertaken, and the actual payments made for the work undertaken during the financial year.

Consultancies with a contract value below $10,000 each

Consultancies

Purpose

Actual payment ($)

All consultancies below $10,000 each - combined Various 12,140

Attorney-General's Dept - Crown Solicitor's Office

Legal Advice

63,410

Rosslyn Cox and Mark Williams Consulting Pty Ltd

Corporate services team review and support

36,150

RECAP Consultants Pty Ltd

Develop regulatory policies and procedures, and provide implementation support

33,300

Chamonix IT Consulting

IT Consulting

18,766

Total

151,626

Data for previous years is available at: Consultants used by Education Standards Board - Dataset - data.sa.gov.au.   

See also the Consolidated Financial Report of the Department of Treasury and Finance for total value of consultancy contracts across the South Australian Public Sector. 

Contractors' disclosure

The following is a summary of external contractors that have been engaged by the agency, the nature of work undertaken, and the actual payments made for work undertaken during the financial year.

Contractors with a contract value below $10,000

Contractors

Purpose

Actual payment ($)

All contractors below $10,000 each - combined

Various

19,960

 

Contractors with a contract value above $10,000 each 

Contractors

Purpose

Actual payment ($)

Randstad Pty Limited

Temporary staff

252,736

Hays Recruiting Experts Worldwide

Temporary staff

51,240

Cirka Pty Ltd

Cleaning and waste management

33,126

Ernst & Young

Auditing service

24,790

Converge International Pty Ltd

Risk assessment

11,939

Total

 373,831

Data for previous years is available at: Contractors used by Education Standards Board - Dataset - data.sa.gov.au.  

The details of South Australian Government-awarded contracts for goods, services, and works are displayed on the SA Tenders and Contracts website. View the agency list of contracts.

The website also provides details of across government contracts.

Risk management

Risk and audit at a glance

Risk is managed through the Risk Management Committee which includes all members of the senior management team. The committee met 12 times during 2022-23 to progress its key priorities, identify and treat intolerable risks and report to the Board.

During 2022-23 the committee achievements were: 

  • developed and implemented a new Risk Appetite Statement and Risk Management Procedure
  • implemented an online risk register database
  • reviewed and reassessed historical risk information
  • refined reporting to the Board
  • developed terms of reference. 

Fraud detected in the agency

No instances of fraud detected. 

Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud

The Board follows whole of government policies for prevention and control of fraud. The Board has zero tolerance for dishonest and unethical behaviour and is committed to prevention, detection and control of fraud, corruption, maladministration, and misconduct relating to its activities. 

The Board’s detection, control and prevention strategies include:

  • appropriate segregation of duties
  • delegations of authority
  • public sector code of conduct training for all new employees, renewed every two years
  • risk register that monitors risks of internal fraud and corruption
  • employee onboarding and offboarding procedures.

Serious or systemic offences against the Board and/or the South Australian public sector are referred to the Office for Public Integrity (OPI) or inquiry agencies to investigate.

Data for previous years is available at: Fraud detected in Education Standards Board - Dataset - data.sa.gov.au.

Public interest disclosure 

There were no Public Interest Disclosures during 2022-23 under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018:

Data for previous years is available at: Public interest (formerly whistle-blowers') disclosure of Education Standards Board - Dataset - data.sa.gov.au
Note:  Disclosure of public interest information was previously reported under the Whistleblowers Protection Act 1993 and repealed by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018 on 1/7/2019.

Reporting required under any other act or regulation

Nil. 

Reporting required under the Carers’ Recognition Act 2005

Nil.

Public complaints 

Number of public complaints reported 

Complaint categories

Sub-categories

Example

Number of Complaints 2022-23

Service delivery

Process

Processing error; incorrect process used; delay in processing application; process not customer responsive.

2

Service quality

Service responsiveness

Service design does not meet customer needs; poor service fit with customer expectations.

2

Total

4

Additional metrics

Additional Metrics

Total

Number of positive feedback comments

2

Number of negative feedback comments

2

Total number of feedback comments

4

% complaints resolved within policy timeframes

50%

Data for previous years is available at: Reporting of public complaints for Education Standards Board - Dataset - data.sa.gov.au

The Education Standards Board published a revised Complaints and feedback management framework in April 2023.

Service improvements

Our early childhood service applications process was revised to include regular communication about the statutory timeframes for a decision. 
We also strengthened our Complaints Management and Feedback Framework (Framework), procedures, and website information. The Framework clarifies the agency’s jurisdiction for managing complaints and requires that complainants be:

  • updated throughout the complaint assessment and investigation process; and
  • provided a detailed outcome response, addressing all aspects of their complaint. 

Compliance statement

The Education Standards Board is compliant with Premier and Cabinet Circular 039 – complaint management in the South Australian public sector

Y

The Education Standards Board has communicated the content of PC 039 and the agency’s related complaints policies and procedures to employees.                  

Y

Appendix 1: statistical overview

Registered schools on 30 June 2023:

Schools by provider

Numbers of schools by year on 30 June 2023

The number of registered schools has remained consistent year on year.

School type

2022-23

2021-22

2020-21

Total government schools

508

513

513

Total non-government schools

207

210

213

Catholic schools

101

103

104

Independent schools

106

107

109

Government primary schools

350

352

352

Non-government primary schools

88

89

91

Government secondary schools

70

73

72

Non-government secondary schools

24

26

28

Combined government schools

88

88

89

Combined non-government schools

95

95

94

CRICOS government schools

128

143

141

CRICOS non-government schools

33

33

35

National Quality Framework providers and services in 2022-2023

Approved providers by type on 30 June 2023

Approved providers by type on 30 June 2023

On 30 June 2023 there were 424 approved providers. Eighty-five percent (359) of providers operate a single service.

In SA, 38% of approved providers are government operated, compared to 11% nationally. 

Approved early childhood education and care services

There were 1278 approved services in SA on 30 June 2023, an increase of 2% compared to the previous year. The increase included 19 long day care, one family day care, four preschools and two out of school hours care newly approved services.

Residual services

There are 133 residual services regulated under the State Act. Of these, 76% (101) are provided by the South Australian Department for Education. 

Residual service type

Number of services

Sole educator family day care

1

In-home care

11

Mobile care

6

Occasional care

115

Approved services by type on 30 June 2023

Approved services by type on 30 June 2023

Service performance by rating on 30 June 2023

Service performance by rating on 30 June 2023

Of 1278 services in SA, 95% (1217) have a quality rating, compared to 91% nationally. Forty five percent (553) of services are rated under the 2018 National Quality Standard and 55% (664) are currently rated under the 2012 National Quality Standard. Sixty-one services are not yet rated because they have recently opened and will be assessed within 18 months of commencing operation.

As of 30 June 2023, South Australia has 16% of services rated ‘Working Towards’, compared to 11% nationally. 

The number of services rated ‘Exceeding’ has steadily declined year on year because changes were made to the National Quality Standard in 2018 to require a more robust assessment against themes to achieve an ‘Exceeding’ rating. There has been a commensurate increase in the number of services rated as ‘Meeting’ as a result. 

Quality ratings of services by year on 30 June 2023

Year

Working towards

Meeting

Exceeding

Excellent

Total

2018-19

205

18%

370

33%

545

48%

8

1%

1,128

2019-20

168

15%

428

37%

558

48%

8

1%

1,162

2020-21

166

14%

469

40%

546

46%

5

1%

1,186

2021-22

162

13%

507

42%

533

44%

4

0%

1,206

2022-23

195

16%

529

43%

490

40%

3

0%

1,217

Proportion of quality ratings by service type compared to national average on 30 June 2023

Service type

Working towards

Meeting

Exceeding*

SA

National

SA

National

SA

National

Long day care

21%

12%

48%

68%

31%

21%

Preschool

4%

4%

26%

38%

70%

57%

Outside school hours care

23%

13%

58%

77%

19%

9%


*Exceeding also includes services rated as Excellent.

South Australia has a higher proportion of OSHC services rated as Working Towards compared to nationally. The Department for Education and the Education Standards Board are implementing a range of support strategies to improve the performance of this service type.

Assessment and rating of services in 2022-23

In 2022-2023, 140 assessment and rating visits were conducted across 139 services with one service assessed twice. As at September 2023, 133 services had received a final rating with:

  • 51% (68) rated as ‘Working Towards’.
  • 48% (64) rated as ‘Meeting’.
  • 1% (1) rated as ‘Exceeding’.

Seventeen percent (24) of services underwent the assessment and rating process for the first time with:

  • 38% (9) of all services rated as ‘Working Towards’.
  • 63% (15) of all services rated as ‘Meeting’.

Applications received in 2022-2023

Application type

2022-23

2021-22

Waiver

691

540

Provider approval

28

36

Amend service approval

171

163

Service approval

56

53

Voluntary suspension of service

15

21

Re-assessment and re-rating

8

1

First tier review

6

6

Transfer of service approval

27

40

Residual service

4

110

Provider approval by executor of estate

1

0

Amend provider approval

7

10

Voluntary suspension of provider

1

0

Internal review of decision

4

2

Total

1019

982

Total incident notifications received by outcome in 2022-2023

Outcome

2022-23

2021-22

No further action required

3055

3498

Action required

393

1386

Total

3448

4884

Serious incidents are a subset of incidents and include an injury or illness where a child seeks or ought to seek medical attention, when children are missing or unaccounted for, locked in or out of the service or removed from the service without authorisation.

Serious incident notifications received by outcome in 2022-2023

Outcome

2022-23

2021-22

No further action required

1898

1798

Action required

227

166

Total

2125

1964

Complaints received in 2022-2023

Complaint type

2022-23

received

2022-23
 % of received

2021-22
received

2021-22
 % of received

Serious Incident

239

35%

167

32%

Childrens Health and Safety

176

26%

121

23%

Law Contravened

121

18%

120

23%

Other

143

21%

110

22%

Total

679

100%

518

100%


The Board received 679 complaints, an increase from 518 complaints received in 2021-22. A complaint can be raised both directly with the agency or at the service.

Top five breaches of the National Law and National Regulations 2022-23

National Law and Regulations breached

Number of breaches

Section 167: Offence relating to protection of children from harm and hazards

328

Section 165: Offence to inadequately supervise children

272

Regulation 170: Policies and procedures to be followed

121

Section 174: Offence to fail to notify certain information to Regulatory Authority

108

Section 166: Offence to use inappropriate discipline

90

Statutory compliance actions issued by type and year

Type

2022-23

2021-22

Emergency action notice

14

11

Compliance notice

12

5

Direction to exclude inappropriate persons

1

2

Prohibition notice

7

2

Condition imposed

42

6

Enforceable undertaking

9

0

Total

85

20

Appendix 2: glossary

Services we regulate

Education and care services under the National Quality Framework (NQF)

Preschool: A service that provides an early childhood education program, delivered by a qualified early childhood teacher (ECT), often but not necessarily on a sessional basis in a dedicated service. 

Long day care a centre-based form of service which provides all-day or part-time care for children age birth to six who attend on a regular basis. 

Outside school hours care (OSHC): A service that provides care for primary school children (typically five to 12 years) before and after school and can also operate during school holidays (vacation care) and on pupil free days. OSHC services are usually provided from primary school premises. 

Family day care service: An education and care service that is delivered by two or more educators to provide education and care to children and operates from two or more residences (section 5(1) National Law)

Residual services under the Education and Early Childhood Services (Regulation and Standards) Act 2011 (SA): 

In-home care services: a service providing education and care to children in premises where the majority of children usually reside and the educator does not reside. 

Occasional care services: a service providing education and care to children primarily on an ad hoc or casual basis, where the service does not usually offer full-time or all-day education and care to children on an ongoing basis; and most of the children attending are pre-school age or younger. 

Mobile care services: a service providing education and care primarily to children pre-school age or under, that transports equipment, materials and staff to one or more locations on each occasion the service is provided. 

Schools under the Education and Care Services (Registration and Standards) Act 2011

School: a school is an education establishment where the major activity is the provision of full-time day primary or secondary education or the provision distance education. 

Primary education: comprises a foundation year (reception), followed by year levels 1-6. 

Secondary education: includes years 7-12. 

Combined school: provides both primary and secondary education. 

Government schools: established and administered by the South Australian Government Department for Education under the Education Act 1972. 

Non-government schools: any school that is not a government school. These schools may be administered by a religious, community or private organisation. 

Catholic school: any school specified by notice in writing to the Registrar by the South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools Incorporated. 

Independent school: non-government schools which are not Catholic schools. 

International education under the Education for Overseas Students Act 2000 and Education and Children’s Services Act 2019 (SA)

Student exchange organisation: a registered school or not-for-profit organisation registered to provide secondary student exchange programs to and from South Australia. 

Acceptance Advice for Secondary Exchange Student form (AASES): the form used by an international student to apply for a subclass 500 visa to enter Australia and to enrol in a South Australian school. 

Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS): a searchable database that provides details of educational institutions approved to deliver education and training services to overseas students, including the courses they offer. 

Appendix 3: Audited financial statements 2022-23