Authorised officers appointed under the National Law have the power to enter and inspect an education and care service at any time during operating hours without prior notice. They can request to see any document, record or register required under the National Law or National Regulations. They can speak with educators, observe practice and inspect the physical premises. A compliance visit can be triggered by a complaint, a notifiable incident report or as part of a routine regulatory monitoring program.

The services that come through these visits without compliance notices are not necessarily the ones with the most elaborate documentation systems — they are the ones where documentation is current, consistent and accessible, and where educators can explain their practice confidently.

What Triggers an Unannounced Visit

The main triggers are:

  • A complaint from a family or former staff member
  • A notifiable incident report, especially one involving serious injury or allegations of abuse
  • A pattern of incidents at the service over a short period
  • Intelligence shared from another regulatory authority (interstate or interagency)
  • Routine monitoring as part of the regulatory authority's annual schedule

The authority is not obliged to tell you why they are visiting. If you ask, they may or may not answer. Either way, the documents they will ask for are largely the same.

The First 5 Minutes — What to Do When They Arrive

  1. Politely verify the officer's identity and authorisation — request to see their official identification card. They are required to carry it and present it.
  2. Notify the nominated supervisor immediately, regardless of who first greets the officer at the door.
  3. Ask the officer to wait briefly while you locate the nominated supervisor. This is entirely reasonable and permitted — they will not start without you.
  4. Offer the officer a place to sit and begin gathering the documentation they are likely to request (see below).
  5. Do not instruct or signal to educators about what to say. Any coaching or attempt to alter practice in front of the officer makes things worse, not better.

The Documents They Will Ask For First

In approximate priority order:

  1. Attendance register for today and the previous week (REG-001). To verify ratios are maintained throughout the day, not just at peak times.
  2. Staff qualifications register (REG-005). To verify WWCC currency, qualifications and (from February 2026) National Register entries.
  3. Incident, injury, trauma and illness register (REG-003). To check for recent incidents and notification compliance, particularly the new 24-hour rule.
  4. Medication administration register (REG-002). To verify Medication Authority Forms exist for every medication being administered.
  5. Evacuation drill register (REG-004). To confirm two drills have occurred in the past 12 months with all required fields completed.
  6. Mandatory policies — particularly Child Safety, Interactions with Children, Code of Conduct, and Emergency and Evacuation. They must be physically available for inspection.
  7. Medical Management Plans for any child with a diagnosed medical condition currently enrolled.

What They Will Observe in the Service

Documentation review usually runs alongside floor observation. The officer will watch:

  • Educator positioning and supervision practice across rooms and outdoor areas
  • Interactions between educators and children — tone, responsiveness, language
  • How transitions are managed (indoor-outdoor, mealtimes, sleep, group changes)
  • Mealtime practices, hygiene, and food handling
  • Outdoor supervision, including water play and equipment use
  • How staff respond to minor incidents or behaviour in the moment

What They Will Ask Educators

Common direct questions an authorised officer puts to educators on the floor:

  • "What do you do if a child tells you something that worries you?"
  • "Where is the medication stored and how do you give it?"
  • "What is the evacuation procedure? Where is the assembly point?"
  • "What would you do if a child went missing?"
  • "Have you read the service's Code of Conduct? When?"
  • "Who is the nominated supervisor today?"

Educators should answer honestly and based on their actual practice. They should not be coached to give scripted answers — assessors are experienced and can hear the difference. The right preparation is regular team discussion of these scenarios so the educators speak from familiarity, not from memorisation.

Common Compliance Gaps Found During Visits

Drawing on published regulatory authority reports:

  • Attendance register not recording exact times of arrival and departure
  • WWCC sighted but not verified online — the official check is the verification screen, not the physical card
  • Incident records completed retrospectively or with missing fields
  • Medication given without a current authority form
  • Evacuation drills conducted only once rather than twice per year
  • Policies not physically available for inspection — locked in the director's office or on a password-protected computer that nobody on shift can access
  • Staff unable to explain what they would do in an emergency
Policies locked in an office during a visit is a documented Quality Area 7 breach. Keep a current printed or shared digital copy accessible to all educators at all times.

After the Visit

When the officer leaves:

  • Debrief immediately with the nominated supervisor and any educators directly questioned.
  • Note any documents requested or questions asked that revealed gaps in your current systems.
  • Anticipate whether a compliance notice is likely. If so, identify the expected response timeframe (usually 14–28 days) and treat it as a defined deliverable.
  • Update your Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) to reflect any identified gaps. This is required under Regulation 55 and demonstrates the continuous improvement loop that NQS Standard 7.1 expects.

The Bottom Line

An unannounced visit is not something to dread if your documentation is current and your team knows what they are doing. The best preparation is not cramming before an expected visit — it is building the habit of completing registers on the day, reviewing policies annually, and talking through procedures regularly in team meetings so every educator can answer confidently when asked.