Emergency evacuation plans and procedures

Education and care services must have emergency and evacuation plans and procedures clearly displayed in a prominent position near each exit. 

Plans and procedures must be relevant. For example, if an out-of-school-hours-care service is located at a school, the service must have plans and procedures that reflect what happens for the service. It may not be suitable to simply adopt the school’s emergency plan because it may not be relevant when the school is closed.

Services should try to ensure all children are familiar with the procedures, even children who only attend certain days and may not be present for all practices.

Emergency evacuation plans should consider the unique circumstances at the premises, including bushfire risk, flood risk and storm impacts. 

Approved providers must ensure a risk assessment is conducted to identify potential emergencies relevant to the service. These could include lockdowns if an unauthorised person tries to enter the service.

For more information about emergency and evacuation procedures, please refer to Regulation 97 in the Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011.