New legislative changes are now in effect
20 March 2026
In 2025, Education Ministers across Australia agreed to a comprehensive package of reforms designed to strengthen child safety across education and care settings.
From 27 February 2026 new requirements under the National Law and Regulations took effect. These include:
- making children’s safety, rights and best interests the paramount consideration when operating education and care services
- managing devices in centre-based education and care services and family day care services
- mandating child protection and national child safety training, see here for information on the training and how to register
- establishing inappropriate conduct as an offence
- expanding regulatory authority powers to respond to misconduct
- strengthening Working with Children Checks requirements
- removing the ability to apply for ongoing service waivers related to service building designs
- enabling effective identification and monitoring of related providers
- expanding regulatory authority powers to enter and inspect family day care services
- expanding responsibility of approved providers to assess areas near family day care residences/venues
- establishing a National Early Childhood Worker Register.
Detailed information about these changes and what they mean for approved providers and services is available on ACECQA’s website.