In Thrisha Pty Ltd ATF Thrisha Trust t/as Thrish Montessori Childcare Centre Goodna v Department of Education, before the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, an application was made for a stay on the suspension of service approval.
In this case, the Queensland Regulatory Authority under the National Law (Department of Education) notified Thrisha Pty Ltd (Applicant) of its decision to suspend Thrisha’s service approval for a period of three months under section 72. The Applicant applied to the Tribunal for a review of the decision and a stay of its operation pending determination of the review.
The notice of suspension alleged: systematic and recurrent non-compliance; persistent failure to improve performance against the NQS; and an unwillingness and/or inability to bring the service into compliance. The Applicant's response was that they had, since receiving the notice, brought the service into compliance. The Department disagreed but did acknowledge that some improvements had been made. The service over a number of years has undergone three separate assessment and rating processes. The Applicant received significant support and resources from the Department and participated at the Department's request in a Targeting Quality Strategy process. Despite this the applicant’s service rating has continued to decline. The Department was of the view that it had no alternative but to suspend the service after its repeated attempts to assist the Applicant failed.
The Tribunal decided to grant the stay pending a full hearing of the matter remarking (paras. 29-32):
The Department has been aware of what it describes as a systematic and recurrent non-compliance over a period of years, periodically assessed on three separate occasions. It asserts declining compliance over time but acknowledges some improvements as a result of the issue of the notice.
It did not, through the course of those three assessments, identify an unacceptable risk of harm to the safety, health and well-being of the children justifying suspension as a result of any of those assessments.
It does not identify a significant deterioration of compliance since the notice and in fact suggests some improvement.
The risk of significant disruption and in some cases hardship to the children and their families in my view results in the balance of convenience favouring the granting of the stay and I order accordingly.
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