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Important Changes to the Accreditation Process

NCAC will implement the following changes to the Accreditation process from 1 November 2009:

• Services will be informed of their Validation Visit date.
• Validation Surveys for families will not be sent to Services to distribute as part of the Accreditation process.

In making these decisions, NCAC has taken on board feedback from the sector regarding Validation Visits and recognised the need for professional dialogue between services and Validators. NCAC has also recognised the recommendations outlined in the Productivity Commission’s Annual Review of Regulatory Burdens on Business.

Media Release - Significant Changes to the Accreditation Process - 21 October 2009 (PDF 66kb - New Window)

Announced Validation Visits

Services will be now be informed of a specific date for their Validation Visit - rather than a six week timeframe. This will help services to have key staff available for the Visits and to plan dates for excursions, staff leave, professional development and other events.

Spot Checks will continue to be unannounced, with Accredited services randomly selected to undergo a Spot Check which could occur at any time.

Evidence from the unannounced Spot Checks (please refer to the Spot Check Evaluation Form Analysis) has shown that most services maintain a standard required for Accreditation between Visits, indicating that there is no longer need for two unannounced Visits.

Services currently awaiting a Validation Visit

• For Visits that been already been scheduled to occur after 1 November 2009, NCAC will contact the service to inform them of the specific date of the Visit.

Future Validation Visits

• Services will receive a notification letter advising of the specific date of the Validation Visit, as well as the Validator’s name.
• In setting the date for the Visit, NCAC takes into account details that services have provided about their availability for a Visit in the Self-study Report and Validation Visit Details Form. This will ensure that the service is open and that the visit does not conflict with major events.
• It is important for services to provide as much information as possible in order for NCAC to try to accommodate service needs when setting the date for the Visit. A Validation Visit Details Form (PDF 39kb - New Window) should be completed if have been further changes to your service since forwarding your Self–study Report to NCAC, that may impact your Validation Visit.
• The specified date will not be negotiable except under extenuating circumstances, such as death or natural disaster. In these cases, justification for change needs to be supplied.
• If NCAC needs to change the date of a Validation Visit it will only be due to unforeseen circumstances such as Validator illness or travel interruptions. NCAC will re-schedule the visit as soon as possible.

Validation Surveys for Families

NCAC will stop sending Validation Surveys for Families to services upon receipt of Self-study Reports from 21 October 2009. Services will no longer have to copy, distribute and collect surveys from families.

The 10% weighting given to these surveys in the Accreditation Decision will be reallocated to the Self-Study Report.

Staff, carer and child surveys will continue to be required.

Please note:
Services with Family Surveys due prior to 1 November 2009 will still need to submit these Surveys.

Partnerships with Families

These changes will not restrict opportunities for families to provide feedback about the quality of care provided at their child care service.

Partnerships with families continue to be a cornerstone of the CCQA systems and are embedded in the current CCQA standards. Throughout the standards (described in the Quality Practices Guides) services are required to communicate with families.

Families can also provide feedback to NCAC via the online Family Survey available on this website.

Further Information