The National Quality Framework (11993.1)

Please note these are the 2027 details for this unit
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The National Quality Framework
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods On-campus
 UC Sydney Hills, Castle Hill, NSW
Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Education
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
School Of Teacher Education Level 1 - Undergraduate Introductory Unit Band 1 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 1 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
The National Quality Framework is Australia's regulatory system for ensuring high-quality, accessible early childhood learning and care of all Australia's children. Under its umbrella sit: the National Laws and Regulations; the National Quality Standard; learning frameworks for prior to school and out of school care; qualifications for staff; assessment and ratings; and requirements for educator to child ratios.

In this unit, students will learn about the professional and legal regulations that are pivotal to the operation of all early learning and care environments in Australia. They will see how these regulations are applied to early childhood contexts and how to create and implement a quality improvement plan.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Critically reflect on all components of the National Quality Framework and apply them to a variety of early childhood contexts;
2. Describe the seven Quality Areas of the National Quality Standard and apply them to early childhood contexts; and
3. Assess an early childhood venue and create a Quality Improvement Plan for it.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - communicate and engage with Indigenous Australians in ethical and culturally respectful ways


Prerequisites

Must be enrolled in EDB001 Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Birth to Five) OR 326JA Bachelor of Early Childhood and Primary Education.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

10172 Regulatory Frameworks in Early Childhood Education

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2027 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2026 UC Sydney Hills, Castle Hill, NSW Semester 1 16 February 2026 On-campus Mrs Rowena Muir
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 16 February 2026 On-campus Mrs Rowena Muir
2027 UC Sydney Hills, Castle Hill, NSW Semester 1 15 February 2027 On-campus Mrs Rowena Muir
2027 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 15 February 2027 On-campus Mrs Rowena Muir
The information provided should be used as a guide only. Timetables may not be finalised until week 2 of the teaching period and are subject to change. Search for the unit timetable.

Required texts

The main reading is a free resource from ACECQA: the Guide to the National Quality Framework (2025).

Additional readings for this unit will be available online via the library with a full list on UCLearn.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Approval of extenuating circumstances will be dependent upon the production of supporting documentation and at the discretion of the unit convener. 

All assessment items required to be submitted online must be submitted via the appropriate Canvas drop box. It is the student's responsibility to upload the correct and corresponding draft or assessment item to the right submission section. Assignments must be submitted in a format accessible to the assessor(s), as stated on the relevant canvas site. If the unit convener and/or tutor are unable to access a submission, or if no submission has been made by the due date and time, a standard late penalty of 10% of the total marks possible for the task may be applied per day, for three days, after which the submission will receive a score of ‘0' in keeping with UC's Assessment Policy. 

Artificial Intelligence 

Students may use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) as indicated in Assessment 2 the assessment instructions for this unit.  

GenAI may only be used in authorised ways when completing assessments at UC. This means that GenAI can only be used for an assessment when: 

  1. The Unit Convener has authorised its use for that assessment; 
  2. The student uses it in the way that the assessment instructions allow for; 
  3. The student fully acknowledges its use, with appropriate citations and references. Each referencing guide provided by the Library provides advice on how to appropriately reference the use of GenAI in-text. 

Where the assessment instructions do not specifically state that GenAI may be used and how, then its use is not allowed for that assessment. If students are unsure, they should seek advice from the Unit Convener. 

Students should be aware that the University of Canberra utilises GenAI detection software. Suspected instances of unauthorised GenAI use may lead to a Learning Validation Conversation designed to provide assurance that a student is able to demonstrate relevant knowledge and skills to meet required learning outcomes. Students who are suspected of having misused GenAI in assessment may be required to attend a summary inquiry for suspected misconduct. 

It is strongly recommended that students keep records of the development process for all works submitted for assessment, or drafts of work submitted for a work-in-progress review, in a learning portfolio or equivalent. Failure to provide evidence of the development process for assessment may influence a suspicion of GenAI misuse or other forms of academic misconduct.

The GenAI for Students Library Guide provides further information, including how to reference GenAI. 

Special assessment requirements

An aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass the unit.

Provision of valid documentation

Please note that the University takes student conduct very seriously. All documentation provided to University staff must be valid and the provision of fraudulent documentation carries with it potentially serious consequences, including suspension and/or exclusion from the University. Note that all allegations of student misconduct will be referred to the Associate Dean for Education (ADE) as a prescribed authority for investigation. 

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

Reading and private study: 60 hours

Workshop and online participation: 30 hours

Assessment tasks: 60 hours

Participation requirements

There is a strong correlation between participation and success in higher education. Your participation in tutorials and engagement with the online activities will enhance your understanding of this unit's content and therefore the quality of your assessment responses. Lack of participation may result in your inability to satisfactorily pass assessment items. 

Required IT skills

Artificial intelligence services must not to be used for assessment or assessment preparation by students unless explicitly allowed in the assessment instructions for an assessment task published with the assessment task and/or in the unit outline. That is, an artificial intelligence services may only be used if: 

  • its use is authorised by the unit convener as part of a specified assessment task, and 
  • it is used in the way allowed in the assessment instructions and/or unit outline, and  
  • its use is appropriately referenced, meaning that students must reference the use of AI in their assessment in the same way as they reference other source material. 

Work placement, internships or practicums

none

Additional information

Theoretical foundations: This unit is underpinned by the objectives of the National Quality Framework as outlined by the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). 

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