To work as an early childhood educator in a centre-based service you usually need an approved certificate III or diploma in early childhood education and care, or evidence you are actively working towards one, plus the working with children check or blue card for your state and national child safety training. Early childhood teachers need an approved teaching qualification, and some states require teacher registration. Overseas-trained educators can apply to ACECQA for a qualification assessment.
By CrossNation Editorial Team. Sources checked 6 October 2026.
At least 50% of educators counted must hold or be working towards an approved diploma, and all others an approved certificate III.
Source: ACECQA: Qualifications for centre-based services with children preschool age or under (retrieved 6 October 2026)
CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and CHC50121 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care are current releases, both dated 20 July 2021.
Source: training.gov.au: CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care (retrieved 6 October 2026)
Everyone involved in providing NQF-regulated education and care must complete mandatory national child safety training, and staff must complete child protection training that each state or territory specifies.
Source: ACECQA: Child safety and child protection training requirements (retrieved 6 October 2026)
A person must not work in a service regulated under the Education and Care Services National Law (Victoria) while a WWC Check application is being assessed.
Source: Victorian Government: The Working with Children Check application process (retrieved 6 October 2026)
Paid workers in regulated child-related environments must have a blue card before they can work with children, and cannot start while the application is being processed. The blue card fee for paid work was $108.30.
Source: Queensland Early Childhood: No card, no start (retrieved 6 October 2026)
Registration is required for early childhood teachers in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, accreditation in New South Wales, and registration is not required in Queensland NQF settings.
Source: ACECQA: Early childhood teacher registration and accreditation (retrieved 6 October 2026)
ACECQA states a target of 80 calendar days for a complete application and says applications are taking longer than usual.
Source: ACECQA: Apply for a qualifications assessment (individuals) (retrieved 6 October 2026)
ACECQA sets the rule for long day care, preschool and kindergarten services with children preschool age or under. At least 50% of the educators counted in the ratios must hold, or be actively working towards, an approved diploma level qualification or higher, and all other educators must hold, or be actively working towards, an approved certificate III level qualification. On training.gov.au the current national qualifications are CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and CHC50121 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care, both released on 20 July 2021. The NQF also recognises former approved qualifications completed before 1 January 2012 and qualifications that ACECQA has assessed as equivalent. Services decide what each educator does, so a certificate III educator and a diploma educator can hold different duties at different centres.
Yes, in many services. A person who is actively working towards an approved certificate III or diploma can be counted as holding it if they meet ACECQA's actively working towards provisions, so centres often hire trainees and students. The provisions have conditions, which ACECQA sets out on its own page, and a service may decide to hire only people who already hold a qualification. Put your course, your provider and your expected finish date on your CV, and keep your enrolment evidence ready. The Children's Services Award pays a level 1 introductory educator who has less than 12 months of experience and a level 2 educator who has at least 12 months, before any qualification level applies.
ACECQA says there are no national qualification requirements for educators who care for school-age children in outside school hours care. State and territory rules apply in the ACT, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and ACECQA lists none for New South Wales or Tasmania on that page. Each state publishes its own approved OSHC qualification list, which you can check with ACECQA's Are you qualified tool or the regulatory authority. Family day care educators follow their own qualification rules, set out on a separate ACECQA page. If you want before and after school work, ask the service which approved qualifications it accepts before you enrol in a course.
A teacher counted under the NQF must hold an approved early childhood teaching qualification, a former approved qualification that started before 1 January 2012, or a qualification that ACECQA has assessed as equivalent. Teacher registration is not an NQF requirement, but state law differs. Victoria requires all early childhood teachers in a service to be registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching, Western Australia requires registration with its Teacher Registration Board, South Australia has registered teachers since 1976 and includes NQF settings since 1 January 2014, and New South Wales requires accreditation with the NSW Education Standards Authority. Queensland does not require registration in NQF settings, although some employers ask for it, and the ACT does not require it for services not attached to an ACT school.
The scheme has a different name in each place and you need the one for the state where you work. New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia use a Working With Children Check, Queensland uses the blue card, Tasmania uses Registration to Work with Vulnerable People, the ACT uses Working with Vulnerable People registration, and the Northern Territory issues a working with children clearance known as the Ochre Card. In Victoria you must not work in a service regulated under the Education and Care Services National Law (Victoria) while the application is being assessed, and Queensland applies a no card, no start rule, so apply before you accept a start date. The table below lists the regulator, the scheme and the fee where the official page published one on 6 October 2026.
A centre-based service must have at least one staff member or nominated supervisor on site at all times with a current approved first aid qualification, approved anaphylaxis management training and approved emergency asthma management training, so many employers ask educators to hold all three. Since 27 February 2026 everyone involved in providing NQF-regulated education and care must complete mandatory national child safety training, starting with the Foundations for Child Safety module, and staff must complete child protection training, which each state or territory specifies. ACECQA's page described an Advanced child safety module as scheduled for July 2026, so check the page for its status. Keep your certificates and dates in one place so you can send them with an application.
ACECQA assesses qualifications for individuals, and a separate migration skills assessment is used for some visa purposes. On 6 October 2026 ACECQA stated a target of 80 calendar days to process a complete application and said the volume of applications meant it was taking longer than usual, so apply early and keep your documents ready. You also need the right to work in Australia before you start, and student visas limit the hours you may work, so check your conditions on VEVO. CrossNation cannot assess your qualification, promise a job or advise on visas. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.
Regulatory authority and teacher rule from ACECQA, the working with children scheme from the state page, and the fee where the official page published one on 6 October 2026. Fees change, so check the page before you apply.
| State or territory | Regulatory authority | Working with children scheme | Early childhood teacher rule | Fee read on the day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | NSW Early Learning Commission | Working With Children Check, Office of the Children's Guardian; lasts 5 years | Accreditation with the NSW Education Standards Authority | See the Office of the Children's Guardian page |
| Victoria | Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority | Working with Children Check through Service Victoria; no work in a regulated service while assessed | Registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching | See the Service Victoria page |
| Queensland | Early Childhood Regulatory Authority, Department of Education | Blue card; no card, no start | No registration required in NQF settings; some employers require it | $108.30 for paid work; no fee for volunteers and students |
| Western Australia | Education and Care Regulatory Unit, Department of Communities | Working with Children Check | Registration with the Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia | $87.00 for paid employees; $11.00 for volunteers |
| South Australia | Education Standards Board | Working with Children Check through the Screening Unit | Registration with the Teachers Registration Board of South Australia | $145 for employees; $73.50 for tertiary students; free for volunteers |
| Tasmania | Department for Education, Children and Young People | Registration to Work with Vulnerable People | Registration required in kindergartens, which are part of schools | $137.20 for employment or volunteer registration from 1 July 2026 |
| Australian Capital Territory | Children's Education and Care Assurance, Education Directorate | Working with Vulnerable People registration through Access Canberra; lasts 5 years | No registration required in NQF settings not attached to an ACT school | $163 for paid work |
| Northern Territory | Quality Education and Care NT | Working with children clearance (Ochre Card) through Safe NT | Registration not required for all teachers; required where preschools are attached to schools | See the Safe NT page |
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In a centre-based service for children preschool age or under, educators need an approved certificate III or a diploma, or must be actively working towards one. At least half of the educators counted must hold or be working towards a diploma.
Not as a counted educator. Services can employ people in other roles, but educators must hold or be working towards an approved qualification. Ask the service how it counts trainees, and enrol with a registered training organisation.
Yes for an educator position, provided the qualification is approved and the service meets its diploma mix. Many educators later move to a diploma, which leads to the advanced educator level under the Children's Services Award.
Yes. Checks are issued by each state or territory and the scheme has a different name in each. Apply to the scheme for the state where you will work.
It depends on the state. ACECQA lists registration in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, accreditation in New South Wales, and no requirement in Queensland NQF settings.
ACECQA states a target of 80 calendar days for a complete application and said on 6 October 2026 that applications were taking longer than usual. Apply early.
Pay is set by the Children's Services Award for most educators, or an enterprise agreement, and the minimums are on our childcare educator pay guide. Check Fair Work for the latest rates.
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