Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Hansard source

The criteria are set out in the bill. I've just run through the criteria that the secretary can consider when—in this case with the current secretary of the department—he is considering either removing funding from providers who already have established services, or when he is considering preventing providers from opening additional services.

What we want to see, of course, is all providers meeting the national quality standards. Those standards don't need to be specified in this bill because they already exist and they stand outside of the bill in the National Quality Framework. We want to see providers meet the National Quality Standard. It's really important, in this bill, that we avoid being too prescriptive about the exact thresholds at which sanctions apply. The secretary is looking at a range of measures, including the national quality standards and how providers are going at meeting those standards. They're also looking at serious incidents. They're looking at other legal compliance with other state laws. They're looking at complaints. They're looking at conditions that may have been provided. They're also—and this is clear in the legislation—looking at whether any significant efforts have been made to improve compliance and improve safety. So it's important that the secretary has some flexibility, and, of course, in the meantime we expect every provider to meet the national quality standards.