Regulatory Position Statement

Regulatory Position Statement

VECRA’s Regulatory Position Statement (the Statement) defines our role and approach to regulation. It articulates VECRA’s regulatory posture and supports our commitment to transparency for service providers and the community, following our establishment as an independent regulator and as we continue to mature as a standalone entity.

The Statement clearly outlines that the safety, rights and best interests of children are paramount in guiding everything we do. This principle guides our regulatory decisions, actions and priorities, and reflects our core responsibility to always act in the best interests of children.

We are a risk-based, responsive regulator that will support providers to comply and improve. But where children's safety is at risk, we will act swiftly, decisively and without hesitation using all powers we have at hand.

The objectives of the Regulatory Statement are to:

• reinforce the paramountcy of the safety, rights and best interests of children in all regulatory decisions and actions
• provide effective regulatory stewardship of the ECEC sector to promote the delivery of safe, high-quality education and care
• ensure duty holders understand and comply with their requirements under the Child Safe Standards, the National Quality Framework (NQF) and, where relevant, the Children’s Services Act and Regulations, including to raise quality and focus on continuous improvement
• signal VECRA’s regulatory posture to provide transparency and predictability to the sector.

Purpose

VECRA oversees and regulates Victoria’s early childhood education and care services to protect children from harm and to ensure they deliver quality education and care that supports children to learn, grow and thrive.

The safety, rights and best interests of children are paramount and guide our regulatory focus, decision-making and operations.

VECRA is also the integrated sector regulator of the Child Safe Standards for early childhood services.

Regulatory priorities for 2026

The safety, rights and best interests of children are paramount in guiding everything VECRA does. This principle guides regulatory decisions, actions and priorities and reflects our core responsibility to always act in the best interests of children.

In 2026, VECRA is focusing its work to minimise the two highest risk harms:

Regulatory posture

• VECRA is a responsive, risk-based regulator with strengthened powers. We use evidence, data and insights to guide our decisions and ensure they are fair, consistent and transparent.
• The safety, rights and best interests of children are paramount and guide our regulatory focus, decision-making and operations. We work to reduce harm to children, uphold their rights and best interests, and support safe, quality education and care.
• Our regulatory response is proportionate and considers the nature and seriousness of any issue, the potential or actual impact on children and a service provider’s compliance history.
• VECRA will continue to work constructively with service providers and educators who are trying to do the right thing. However, we will not tolerate service providers or educators that fail to prioritise the safety, rights and best interests of children.
• We will take strong enforcement action if a situation involves serious breaches or a continuing failure to comply. VECRA will apply its full range of powers decisively where necessary to deter non-compliance and prevent harm.
• Where there is serious or immediate risk to children’s safety, wellbeing or rights, VECRA will act without delay.

Regulatory approach

Our regulatory approach is underpinned by principles of good risk-based regulation that are:

• Targeted - allocate resources and effort to the areas of most serious harm
• Proportionate - ensure regulatory responses are proportionate to the problem they seek to address
• Transparent - be clear about regulatory activities and outcomes to the regulated sector, families and the community
• Inclusive - develop regulation in partnership/consultation with families, ECEC sector, other regulators and government
• Consistent - apply decision-making processes consistently and predictably to different approved providers and individuals
• Accountable - set clear standards and be accountable to the sector, families and the community on the decision-making process and outcomes.

Role

VECRA is the early childhood education and care (ECEC) regulator in Victoria. We are responsible for regulating kindergartens, long day care, family day care, and outside school hours care under the National Quality Framework, as well as occasional care and limited hours children’s services under the Children’s Services Act 1996. VECRA is also the integrated sector regulator of the Child Safe Standards for early childhood services.

VECRA replaces the regulatory functions previously performed by the Quality Assessment and Regulation Division (QARD) of the Victorian Department of Education, strengthening oversight and accountability for the ECEC sector.

VECRA regulates Victorian ECEC services under the following regulatory schemes:

• the National Quality Framework:
  • the Education and Care Services National Law (National Law)
  • the Education and Care Services National Regulations (National Regulations)
  • the National Quality Standard (NQS)
• the Victorian Children’s Services regulatory scheme:
  • the Children’s Services Act 1996, and
  • the Children’s Services Regulations 2020.
• the Child Safe Standards (CSS) for all early childhood services in Victoria under the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005.

Key responsibilities

VECRA has a number of core responsibilities to collectively support the regulation of ECEC services. These include:

• Informing and educating services and providers to support and encourage voluntary compliance, continuous improvement, the provision of culturally safe and inclusive environments and the acceleration of child safety training and practices
• Setting standards and building confidence in the sector by overseeing approvals from individuals and organisations who wish to provide ECEC services
• Supporting quality including through assessing and rating services against the NQS and maintaining a register of ECEC workers
• Ensuring compliance including proactive monitoring of services, investigating and responding to non-compliance and working collaboratively with other regulators
• Enforcing the law including through enforcement actions and prosecution.