Make a complaint about an early childhood service

Complaints about childcare services can be made to:

• your early childhood education and care service, or
• the Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA).

Make a complaint if you:

• have concerns about the health, safety or wellbeing of children
• are worried about the behaviours and practices of staff at an early childhood service
• believe there have been any incidents of physical and sexual abuse of a child at an early childhood service
• believe there is an unlicensed early childhood service operating.

Please contact your service or the appropriate government department directly if your complaint relates to:

• fees
• child care subsidy (CCS) payments
• workplace issues relating to your employment, such as leave, penalty rates, rostered breaks or discrimination
• lost items.

You can make a complaint about CSS payments and policy to the Australian Government Department of Education.

Make a complaint to the service

You can visit or phone a service during opening hours to raise a concern. Some services may also have email or online options available.

Each service must display the details of the person who handles complaints. These details must be:

• displayed at the service entrance (or at the main office for family day care services), or
• published online.

The service should have a clear process for raising concerns and making complaints. All complaints should be dealt with in a positive, constructive and professional way.

Depending on the type of complaint, the service may need to notify us.

Make a complaint to VECRA

You can complain to VECRA about an early childhood service if you:

• are not happy with the way the service handled your complaint
• do not feel comfortable speaking directly to the service.

Complaints can be made to VECRA by:

• filling in our online complaint form
• contacting your local VECRA office – use our interactive map to locate your local office
• phoning our enquiries line on 1300 307 415, Monday to Friday between 9 am and 5 pm.

When you lodge a complaint, we will:

• acknowledge your complaint
• contact you if we require further information
• aim to resolve your complaint promptly
• help you contact the right person if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint.

If you wish, you can remain anonymous but sharing your name and contact information can help us make further enquiries.

Privacy

All information you provide to VECRA when lodging a complaint will be collected, used, stored and disclosed in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) or the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) – based on the type of complaint you make.

A collection statement providing further details can be found on our online complaint form.

Contact us

If you have any questions, please contact VECRA:

• Phone: 1300 307 415 (Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm)
• Email: vecra@education.vic.gov.au
• Address: GPO Box 4367 Melbourne, VIC 3001

Phone us using an interpreter

You can contact VECRA using an interpreter.

1. Call the National Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450
2. Ask them to call 1300 307 415 (Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm)
3. They will stay on the phone call and interpret.