Trust and Safety

Exceeding NQS Across Melbourne: The Suburb-by-Suburb Picture

Statewide, 37% of assessed services hold Exceeding NQS. But that average hides a spread from under one in ten centres in some growth corridors to four in five in parts of the inner east. Where your suburb sits changes what your rating is worth.

Last updated 6 July 2026

Educators and a director in an early learning room

We track 1,864 early childhood services across Victoria, joining ACECQA's public register with public review data. Of the services assessed under the National Quality Standard, 37% currently hold an Exceeding rating.

That statewide figure is the one to quote at dinner parties. For a director making positioning decisions, the local figure matters more, because parents don't compare you with the state. They compare you with the five centres on their shortlist, and Exceeding rates vary enormously between suburbs.

The suburb spread

A selection from our dataset, focusing on suburbs with larger markets:

Suburb	Tracked services	Holding Exceeding	Exceeding rate
Kew	13	10	77%
Brighton	12	7	58%
Berwick	23	11	48%
Richmond	11	5	45%
Frankston	22	9	41%
Glen Waverley	20	8	40%
Mornington	11	4	36%
Clyde North	19	6	32%
Point Cook	13	4	31%
Werribee	30	8	27%
Cranbourne	25	6	24%
Craigieburn	25	5	20%
Pakenham	21	2	10%
Tarneit	22	2	9%
Preston	13	1	8%

Beyond the table, the pattern extends: smaller established suburbs like Hawthorn and Williamstown run above 80%, while several outer growth areas sit below one in ten.

The pattern, and the honest reading of it

The spread isn't random. Established inner-east and bayside suburbs cluster at the top; the fast-growing outer corridors cluster at the bottom. Two forces drive it. Services in established areas tend to be older, and Exceeding assessments reward exactly the kind of embedded, documented practice that takes years to build. And growth corridors have absorbed a wave of newly opened services that are early in their assessment history.

What it doesn't mean is that a Tarneit service is worse than a Kew one. It means the competitive meaning of a rating flips depending on where you operate, and your marketing should flip with it.

If you operate where Exceeding is rare

An Exceeding rating in a corridor running at 10% is one of the strongest single claims available to you, and it's probably sitting in your footer. Move it to the headline. You hold something that roughly nine in ten nearby services don't, verified by a regulator, checkable by any parent on the national register. Explain the scale in one sentence, state your result, and let the scarcity do the work.

If you hold Meeting in the same corridor, you're in the local majority, and the game is evidence: reviews with substance, educators on camera, a walkthrough that shows your practice. In markets where the badge doesn't separate services, showing beats telling.

If you operate where Exceeding is everywhere

In Kew or Brighton, the badge is an entry ticket. Every serious competitor has it, so parents discount it. Differentiation moves one level down: which quality areas you excelled in, what the assessor actually observed, and the parts of your service no rating captures, your people, your rooms, your community of families. This is where depth of storytelling wins, because everyone's headline is the same.

One more use for this data: choosing battles

If you operate multiple services, or you're planning your next one, the suburb spread is strategic information. A strong service entering a low-Exceeding corridor carries an unusual advantage; the same service in the inner east joins a crowd. We keep these figures current for over 140 Victorian suburbs, alongside review and rating data, and we're happy to share your local picture. It's part of what comes back in the free Enrolment Story Audit, no call needed, within 48 hours.

A cosy early-learning reading nook by a window

FAQ

Questions directors ask

How often are services reassessed under the NQS?

There's no fixed cycle. Regulatory authorities schedule assessments based on risk, time since the last visit, and changes at the service, so years can pass between assessments. That's worth remembering when you read suburb figures: they describe current published ratings, some of which are recent and some of which aren't.

Is Exceeding worth promoting if most centres near me hold it too?

Yes, but differently. In a high-Exceeding suburb, the badge is table stakes and the differentiation moves to how well you explain and evidence yours: which quality areas, what practice earned it, what families say. In a low-Exceeding suburb, the rating itself is the differentiator and deserves headline treatment.

My suburb isn't in the table. Where's the data from?

The table shows a selection of Melbourne suburbs with at least ten tracked services, drawn from our aggregation of ACECQA's public register across 1,800+ Victorian services. We hold the same figures for over 140 suburbs, and the free Enrolment Story Audit includes your suburb's picture wherever you are.

Does a low Exceeding rate in my area mean quality is low?

Not by itself. Newer services in growth corridors often simply haven't had the years of embedded practice that Exceeding assessments reward, and some strong services hold Meeting while awaiting reassessment. The honest reading is about positioning, not judgement: in these areas, an Exceeding rating is scarce, so holding one is a bigger story.