Full list of NT childcare ratings reveal 100+ centres go years without assessment by regulator

As childcare safety enters the forefront of parents’ minds, we can reveal more than 100 NT centres have not been assessed by the regulator in the past two years. SEE THE LIST.

As parents across Australia are repulsed by recent allegations of multiple child sex offences allegedly committed by a Victorian childcare worker, the NT News can reveal more than 100 centres across the Northern Territory have gone years without an assessment by the NT regulator.

On Tuesday, 26-year-old Melbourne man Joshua Brown was unmasked as an alleged child rapist after Victorian Police charged him with more than 70 offences.

Parents across Australia, including in the Northern Territory, are understandably shaken by this “sickening” revelation, with an NT Government spokesman responding to community concerns.

The alleged child sex abuser Joshua Brown worked in over 20 Victorian childcare centres. Picture Supplied.,

“The allegations of child exploitation in Victoria are sickening,” a CLP Government spokesman said.

“Our childcare workers are some of the best in the country and our government backs them to deliver safe, quality care for young Territorians.”

A data analysis conducted by the NT News found more than 100 childcare centres had not had been assessed by the regulator, Quality Education and Care NT (QECNT), in the past two years.

National Quality Standards (NQS) and ratings for childcare centres. Picture: Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA)

QECNT is responsible for ensuring NT childcare providers comply with seven National Quality Standards (NQS) areas, which includes safety, supervision, staffing arrangements, health and wellbeing.

Centres are assessed and rated as: excellent, exceeding the NQS, meeting the NQS, working towards the NQS or significant improvement required.
No NT childcare centre is rated as excellent, while two require “significant improvement” and 47 are “working towards the NQS”.

It is important to note a centre “working towards the NQS” are still considered safe and may only require improvement in one of the seven areas.

Nevertheless, nine “working towards” centres have gone more than 24 months without an NQS assessment.

QECNT’s own policy recommends assessments for these centres to occur 18-24 months after receiving a “working towards” rating.

For centres “meeting the NQS”, the next assessment is recommended 30-36 weeks later.

Yet 68 satisfactory centres have gone more than 36 months without an NQS assessment, including 13 centres not assessed since 2019.

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by centres who have not been the subject of an assessment.

In the wake of the tragic death of Ebony Thompson, her family called on the government to mandate annual QECNT compliance checks. 

Early Education Minister Jo Hersey speak said safety was her government’s top priority. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Early Education Minister Jo Hersey said she would wait for the full coroner’s report to consider Ebony’s parents’ calls, but reaffirmed her commitment to children’s safety.

“The safety of Territory children remains one of our main priorities,” she said.

“The Department of Education and Training is working closely with all relevant stakeholders, including Quality Education and Care NT as the regulatory authority, to strengthen and enforce compliance requirements.”

A department spokesman said QECNT physically visited every approved centre annually, but did not do a full compliance check, noting this was not yet mandated by the national regulator.

“If the National Quality Framework mandates time frames for visits, the department would support this,” the spokesman said.

Originally published as Full list of NT childcare ratings reveal 100+ centres go years without assessment by regulator