Incident and complaint data
This page provides data on incidents and complaints submitted to the NSW Early Learning Commission, the independent regulator for early childhood education and care (ECEC) in NSW, in Quarter 3 (January to March) of the 2025–26 financial year (FY).
Slight variations in the figures published on this page each quarter may be experienced as data is captured at a specific point in time and may be updated retrospectively to reflect information related to the reporting period.
Approved providers are responsible for notifying the NSW Early Learning Commission (Commission) about a broad range of incidents, complaints and operational changes that occur at their service, including circumstances that may pose a risk to the health, safety or wellbeing of children attending an early childhood education and care (ECEC) service.
Incidents that are notified to the Commission can range from the very minor through to the serious. The Commission can also receive multiple notifications and/or complaints relating to the same matter.
Approved providers are required to notify the Commission of complaints they receive alleging that certain incidents or breaches of law have occurred. The Commission also receives complaints directly from complainants, some of which will relate to the same incidents.
All complaints and notifications are assessed and investigated as necessary.
Complaints received by the Commission
The table below shows the number of complaints either made directly to the Commission or via notification by a provider in Q3, 2025–26 FY. Figures for earlier quarters are provided for comparison.
| Type of data | This quarter (Q3, 2025–26 FY) | Previous quarter (Q2, 2025–26 FY) | Same quarter last FY (Q3, 2024–25 FY) | % change on same quarter last year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct complaints | 1,003 | 1,025 | 861 | 16 |
| Notified complaints | 1,014 | 1,111 | 922 | 10 |
| Total | 2,017 | 2,136 | 1,783 | 26 |
Incidents notified to the Commission
The table below shows the number of serious and other incidents notified to the Commission in Q3, 2025–26 FY. Figures for earlier quarters are provided for comparison.
Under the Education and Care Services National Regulations, serious incidents are those that seriously compromise the health, safety or wellbeing of a child, including death, serious injury, illness, trauma, incidents requiring emergency services, or where a child is missing, locked in or out, or removed in breach of regulations.
All incidents that do not meet the definition of a serious incident under Regulation 12 are reported as 'Other Incidents'.
| Incident type | This quarter (Q3, 2025–26 FY) | Previous quarter (Q2, 2025–26 FY) | Same quarter last FY (Q3, 2024–25 FY) | % change on same quarter last year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serious Incident | 2,472 | 2,700 | 2,290 | 8 |
| Other Incident | 1,552 | 3,766 | 1,939 | -20 |
| Total | 4,024 | 6,466 | 4,229 | -5 |