On what date were childcare service operators provided with the (a) Draft Child Care Quality Assurance Standards paper and (b) Draft Child Care Quality Assurance Framework and Guide, and for each document, (i) on what date did submissions on the draft close and (ii) how many submissions have been received by his department.

A copy of the draft Standards document was circulated to members of the National Advisory Group on 25 January 2007. Some of the Advisory Group members circulated this document to service providers as they were asked to provide feedback that broadly represented their sector. The document was posted on my department’s and the National Childcare Accreditation Council’s (NCAC) websites to assist with that process.

Following that initial period of consultation with the National Advisory Group, the draft Standards were released for public comment on 16 February 2007. A Preamble and a draft Quality Assurance Framework were also released for comment on 23 February 2006.

An article about the development of an integrated child care quality assurance system will feature in the NCACs March newsletter “Putting Children First”, which is sent to every service provider registered with NCAC or registered on their mailing list.

The closing date for comments on these draft papers is 10 April 2007.

To date approximately 40 responses have been received as a result of the initial release of the standards.