{"id":"education-and-care-services-national-law-application-act-2026","name":"Education and Care Services National Law Application Act 2026","slug":"education-and-care-services-national-law-application-act-2026","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30496,"registerId":"wa-education-and-care-services-national-law-application-act-2026-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Education and Care Services National Law Application Act 2026","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nEducation and Care Services National Law Application Act 2026\n\nWestern Australia\n\nEducation and Care Services National Law Application Act 2026\n\nContents\n\nPart 1 — Preliminary\n\n1. Short title 2\n\n2. Commencement 2\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 4\n\nUncommenced provisions table 4\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\n![]()Western Australia\n\nEducation and Care Services National Law Application Act 2026\n\nAn Act —\n\n- to apply the Education and Care Services National Law (with modifications) as a law of the State; and\n- to repeal the *Education and Care Services National Law (WA) Act 2012* and the *Education and Care Services National Regulations 2012*; and\n- to make savings and transitional arrangements; and\n- to make consequential amendments to various other Acts; and\n- for related purposes.\n\n\n## Part 1 — Preliminary\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis is the *Education and Care Services National Law Application Act 2026*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\n(1) This Act comes into operation as follows —\n\n(a) Part 1 (but only sections 1 and 2) — on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent;\n\n(b) Part 6 Division 1 comes into operation —\n\n(i) if the *Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024* Schedule 1 comes into operation on or before the day on which section 30 of this Act comes into operation — immediately after section 30 of this Act comes into operation; or\n\n(ii) otherwise — on the day on which the *Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024* Schedule 1 comes into operation;\n\n(c) Part 6 Division 2 — if the *Early Childhood Legislation Amendment (Child Safety) Act 2025* (Vic) has effect for the purposes of Part 2 under section 7(2), on the last day on which a provision of that Act comes into operation under section 8;\n\n(d) the rest of the Act — on a day fixed by proclamation (proclamation day).\n\n(2) If the *Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024* section 231 comes into operation before proclamation day, Part 6 Division 4 of this Act —\n\n(a) does not come into operation; and\n\n(b) is deleted on proclamation day.\n\n[**3, 4.** Have not come into operation.]\n\n[Parts 2‑6 have not come into operation.]\n\n![]()\n\nNotes\n\nThis is a compilation of the *Education and Care Services National Law Application Act 2026*. For provisions that have come into operation see the compilation table. For provisions that have not yet come into operation see the uncommenced provisions table.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Education and Care Services National Law Application Act 2026* Pt. 1 (other than s. 3 and 4) | 2 of 2026 | 31 Mar 2026 | Pt. 1 (but only s. 1 and 2): 31 Mar 2026 (see s. 2(1)(a)) |\n\n\nUncommenced provisions table\n\nTo view the text of the uncommenced provisions see *Acts as passed* on the WA Legislation website.\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Education and Care Services National Law Application Act 2026* (other than s. 1 and 2) | 2 of 2026 | 31 Mar 2026 | Act other than s. 1 and 2 and Pt. 6 Div. 1 and 2: to be proclaimed (see s. 2(1)(d) and (2));   Pt. 6 Div. 1: if 2024/051 Sch. 1 comes into operation on or before s. 30 of this Act: immediately after s. 30 of this Act comes into operation, otherwise on the day on which 2024/051 Sch. 1 comes into operation (see s. 2(1)(b));   Pt. 6 Div. 2: if the *Early Childhood Legislation Amendment (Child Safety) Act 2025* (Vic) has effect for the purposes of Pt. 2 under s. 7(2), on the last day on which a provision of that Act comes into operation under s. 8 (see s. 2(1)(c)) |\n\n\n \n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nproclamation day 2(1)\n\n© State of Western Australia 2026.\n\nThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). To view relevant information and for a link to a copy of the licence, visit www.legislation.wa.gov.au.\n\nAttribute work as: © State of Western Australia 2026.\n\nBy Authority: ANDREW JONES, Government Printer\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This appears to be a standard application Act with a clear, limited purpose: adopting the National Law with modifications, repealing superseded legislation, and making consequential amendments. The scope aligns with the stated objects in the preamble. No evidence of scope creep in the visible provisions."},"complexity_factors":["The Act is primarily an 'application' or 'reference' statute—it imports an external legal text (the National Law) rather than containing substantive rules itself","Complex commencement provisions with multiple contingencies: different parts start on different triggers (Royal Assent, proclamation, or contingent on other Acts like the Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024 and Victorian legislation)","Conditional deletion clause: Part 6 Division 4 self-deletes if another Act commences before proclamation day","Cross-references to external legislation including the National Law itself, the 2012 WA Act, Victorian legislation, and the Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024","Incomplete content: Parts 2-6 and sections 3-4 are not included in this compilation (marked as 'not come into operation')","Only 1 defined term ('proclamation day') visible in this excerpt, but the full Act likely contains more"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a Western Australian law that brings the national rules for childcare and early education services into force in WA. It does this by 'adopting' the Education and Care Services National Law—a set of rules agreed to by all Australian states and territories—but with some changes specific to WA.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Applies national childcare law to WA** with modifications (changes) to suit local needs\n- **Cleans up old laws** by repealing (cancelling) the previous WA version from 2012 and its associated regulations\n- **Manages the transition** from old rules to new ones through savings and transitional arrangements (rules that protect existing rights or arrangements during the changeover)\n- **Fixes up other laws** that need updating to match the new system\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Childcare centres and early education services operating in WA\n- Parents using these services\n- Regulatory bodies that oversee childcare standards\n- Anyone working in early childhood education\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis keeps WA aligned with national standards for childcare safety and quality, while allowing the state to make specific adjustments. It ensures children in WA receive the same baseline protections as children in other states, but with local administrative arrangements."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope change cannot be assessed as the legislative text was unavailable. The page returned a system error indicating the content has moved or been removed from the Western Australian legislation website."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the source URL returned an error page","Cannot assess true complexity without the Act's content","Score of 1 reflects absence of analysable material, not simplicity of the underlying law","National cooperative legislative schemes (like education and care services frameworks) are typically complex in practice, but this cannot be confirmed here"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian Act (Education and Care Services National Law Application Act 2026) appears to adopt and apply the national regulatory framework for education and care services in WA. It would shape how childcare centres, kindergartens and outside‑school‑hours care are regulated locally, affecting service providers, families and regulators — but the full text is unavailable, so details can’t be confirmed."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the supplied text, the Act's scope is to adopt the National Law (with modifications), repeal the prior WA law/regulations, and provide transitional and consequential provisions. No material narrowing or expansion of that stated scope appears within the published provisions; the principal complexity is timing and conditional commencement rather than a change in substantive subject‑matter coverage."},"complexity_factors":["Staged and conditional commencement tied to other laws (see s.2(1)(b)–(d) and s.2(2)) creates timing uncertainty for implementation and compliance.","Act applies a separate, modified national law as state law (title and objects), requiring alignment of state practice with the National Law plus any WA modifications.","Repeal of existing WA Act and Regulations requires savings and transitional arrangements (Act purpose clauses), increasing administrative and legal transition work.","Multiple uncommenced provisions (compilation/uncommenced tables) mean partial operation and split regulatory regimes during the roll‑out period.","Cross‑jurisdictional dependency (references to Commonwealth and Victorian Acts and national instruments) raises intergovernmental coordination and dependence on other jurisdictions' commencement.","Need for proclamation days and conditional deletions (s.2) imposes discretion on executive timing and potential interim gaps in coverage.","Consequential amendments to various other Acts (purpose clauses) can cascade compliance and administrative changes across unrelated statutes."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act applies the Education and Care Services National Law (with modifications) as Western Australian law, repeals the previous WA Education and Care Services National Law Act 2012 and its 2012 Regulations, and provides savings, transitional arrangements and consequential amendments. It affects licensed early education and care services, their operators and the regulator by changing which law governs compliance and by staging commencement dates that are conditionally linked to other Acts, so businesses and administrators must monitor timing and transitional rules."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/education-and-care-services-national-law-application-act-2026","history":"/api/acts/education-and-care-services-national-law-application-act-2026/history","analysis":"/api/acts/education-and-care-services-national-law-application-act-2026/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/education-and-care-services-national-law-application-act-2026/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/education-and-care-services-national-law-application-act-2026/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/education-and-care-services-national-law-application-act-2026/documents"}}