{"id":"BILL-TAS-education-and-care-services-national-law-application-amendment-bill-2026-7-of-2026","name":"Education and Care Services National Law (Application) Amendment Bill 2026","slug":"education-and-care-services-national-law-application-amendment-bill-2026","collection":"bill","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":"2026-01-01","administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":446182,"registerId":"BILL-TAS-education-and-care-services-national-law-application-amendment-bill-2026-7-of-2026:current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-01-01","status":"in_force","reasons":null,"registeredAt":"2026-05-08T16:48:07.972Z"},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"retrieval-0001","sectionType":"document_chunk","heading":"Document excerpt 1","content":"# Education and Care Services National Law (Application) Amendment Bill 2026\n\n[Bill 7]-X\nTASMANIA\n__________\nEDUCATION AND CARE SERVICES NATIONAL\nLAW (APPLICATION) AMENDMENT BILL 2026\n__________\nCONTENTS\n1. Short title\n2. Commencement\n3. Principal Act\n4. Sections 14A and 14B inserted\n14A. Working with children law\n14B. Working with vulnerable people law\n5. Repeal of Act\n\n2\n\n[Bill 7] 3\nEDUCATION AND CARE SERVICES NATIONAL\nLAW (APPLICATION) AMENDMENT BILL 2026\nThis Public Bill originated in the House of Assembly, and, having this day passed, is\nnow ready for presentation to the Legislative Council for its concurrence.\nLAURA ROSS, Clerk of the House\n14 April 2026\n(Brought in by the Minister for Innovation, Science and the\nDigital Economy, the Honourable Madeleine Ruth Ogilvie)\nA BILL FOR\nAn Act to amend the Education and Care Services National\nLaw (Application) Act 2011\nBe it enacted by Her Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by\nand with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and\nHouse of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:\n1. Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Education and\nCare Services National Law (Application)\nAmendment Act 2026.\n2. Commencement\nThis Act commences on the day on which this\nAct receives the Royal Assent.\n\nEducation and Care Services National Law (Application)\nAmendment Act 2026\nAct No. of 2026\ns. 3\n4\n3. Principal Act\nIn this Act, the Education and Care Services\nNational Law (Application) Act 2011* is referred\nto as the Principal Act.\n4. Sections 14A and 14B inserted\nAfter section 14 of the Principal Act, the\nfollowing sections are inserted in Part 2:\n14A. Working with children law\nFor the purposes of the definition of\n“working with children law” in section\n5 of the Education and Care Services\nNational Law (Tasmania), the\nRegistration to Work with Vulnerable\nPeople Act 2013, to the extent that it\nrelates to working with children, is\ndeclared to be a working with children\nlaw for this jurisdiction for the purposes\nof the Education and Care Services\nNational Law (Tasmania).\n14B. Working with vulnerable people law\nFor the purposes of the definition of\n“working with vulnerable people law”\nin section 5 of the Education and Care\nServices National Law (Tasmania), the\nRegistration to Work with Vulnerable\nPeople Act 2013, to the extent that it\n_______________________________________________________________\n*No. 48 of 2011\n\nEducation and Care Services National Law (Application)\nAmendment Act 2026\nAct No. of 2026\ns. 5\n5\nrelates to working with vulnerable\npeople, is declared to be a working with\nvulnerable people law for this\njurisdiction for the purposes of the\nEducation and Care Services National\nLaw (Tasmania).\n5. Repeal of Act\nThis Act is repealed on the first anniversary of\nthe day on which it commenced.\nGovernment Printer, Tasmania","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The amendment is narrow and declaratory: it designates the existing Registration to Work with Vulnerable People Act 2013 as the applicable Tasmanian law for the National Law's definitions of \"working with children\" and \"working with vulnerable people.\" It does not expand the substantive regulatory reach of the Principal Act or create new obligations beyond what the RWVP Act or the National Law already impose. The temporary (one-year) repeal clause limits permanence but does not materially broaden the original purpose of aligning Tasmania with the Education and Care Services National Law."},"complexity_factors":["Very short Bill (5 sections total)","Two brief inserted sections (14A and 14B) each making a single declaratory statement","Single external cross-reference to section 5 of the Education and Care Services National Law (Tasmania) for the defined terms","No new regulatory powers, offences or fees created","Self‑repeal clause (one-year automatic repeal) — adds a temporal condition but no nested exceptions","Few defined terms introduced; relies on existing definitions in the Principal Act and the National Law"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this Bill does (mechanically)**\n\n- Inserts two new short sections (14A and 14B) into the Education and Care Services National Law (Application) Act 2011 (the Principal Act).\n- Section 14A declares that, for the purpose of the definition of \"working with children law\" in section 5 of the Education and Care Services National Law (Tasmania), the Registration to Work with Vulnerable People Act 2013 (the RWVP Act) — to the extent it covers working with children — is treated as the \"working with children law\" for Tasmania. (See s.14A.)\n- Section 14B makes an equivalent declaration that the RWVP Act, to the extent it relates to working with vulnerable people, is treated as the \"working with vulnerable people law\" for Tasmania under the same definition in section 5 of the Education and Care Services National Law (Tasmania). (See s.14B.)\n- The Bill automatically repeals itself one year after it commences. (See s.5.)\n\n**Who this affects**\n\n- Early childhood education and care services, their operators and staff in Tasmania, to the extent those services rely on or are regulated under the Education and Care Services National Law (Tasmania).\n- The Tasmanian regulator and administrators of the RWVP Act (the authority that registers people to work with vulnerable people and children).\n- Individuals who must hold a registration, certificate or clearance under the RWVP Act and those checking such registrations for working-in-scope roles.\n\n**Why it matters (official claim and mechanical effect)**\n\n- The stated effect is to make clear, for the National Law's purposes, which Tasmanian statutory scheme supplies the legal test and administrative process for vetting people who work with children or other vulnerable people.  In practice that means when the Education and Care Services National Law asks whether a person is covered by a \"working with children\" or \"working with vulnerable people\" law, Tasmania will use the RWVP Act as the governing local law. (s.14A–14B; cross-ref: s.5 of the Education and Care Services National Law (Tasmania)).\n\n**Testing the claim against practical effects, costs and incentives**\n\n- Who pays: there is likely no new direct fee created by this Bill. Costs of registration and background checking continue to fall on applicants/employers as already set by the RWVP Act or existing National Law obligations. (See s.14A–14B for the mechanical link.)\n- Who decides: the Tasmanian registration scheme (the RWVP regulator) retains decision-making power over issuing, refusing or cancelling registrations and holding associated information. This Bill does not change the substance of the RWVP Act or create a new decision-maker; it only makes that Act the recognised source for National Law definitions. (s.14A–14B)\n- Behavioural change required: employers and services regulated under the National Law will treat RWVP Act registrations/decisions as satisfying the National Law's definition checks. That can simplify which clearance they must obtain or check, and may change record-keeping or compliance steps where previously different local checks were used. (s.14A–14B)\n- Compliance burden: for people already required to register under the RWVP Act, the administrative burden is unchanged. For entities that previously relied on a different clearance or had to apply separate checks for National Law compliance, this may reduce duplication. There is a minor administrative task for regulators and services to align forms, databases or compliance checks to reflect the declared status.\n- Interaction with private enterprise and competition: the Bill does not create new licensing requirements beyond the RWVP Act. It may reduce friction for businesses operating child-care services by clarifying which Tasmanian clearance satisfies the National Law definition, potentially lowering transactions costs of compliance. It does not change fees, ownership rules or market-entry rules directly.\n- Implementation risk and discretion: the legal effect depends on correct cross-referencing between the National Law definition (s.5) and the RWVP Act. If the RWVP Act is amended later, questions may arise about which parts \"relate to\" children or vulnerable people for National Law purposes — that can create interpretive or administrative uncertainty requiring regulator guidance.\n- Opportunity costs and trade-offs: the Bill is narrowly targeted and short; it uses legislative time to produce a statutory declaration rather than amend the National Law itself. The trade-off is simplicity and speed versus permanence: the declared connection is time-limited only by the one-year repeal of this Bill (see below), which may mean a subsequent, longer-term solution is needed.\n\n**Other notable mechanics**\n\n- The Bill does not amend the RWVP Act itself; it only declares that the RWVP Act counts as the relevant \"working with children\" or \"working with vulnerable people\" law for the National Law's definitions. (s.14A–14B)\n- The Act repeals itself on the first anniversary of commencement. That makes the declaration temporary unless replaced or made permanent by further legislative action. (s.5)\n\n**Concrete risks and points to watch**\n\n- Temporary duration: automatic repeal after one year means this is an interim fix. If no successor measure is enacted, there will be uncertainty after repeal about which Tasmanian law the National Law should treat as the relevant working-with-children / vulnerable-people law.\n- Interpretive scope: because the insertion applies the RWVP Act \"to the extent that it relates\" to children or vulnerable people, there may be boundary questions about particular provisions of the RWVP Act and whether they fall within that scope; resolving those will be a matter for regulators, lawyers or courts if challenged.\n- Data and administrative alignment: regulators and services should check their systems to ensure RWVP registrations are recorded and recognised in the compliance workflows used for National Law obligations.\n\n**Key sections cited**: insertion of s.14A and s.14B (declarations), and s.5 (self-repeal) of the Amendment Act; cross-reference to s.5 of the Education and Care Services National Law (Tasmania) for the defined terms.\n"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/education-and-care-services-national-law-application-amendment-bill-2026","history":"/api/acts/education-and-care-services-national-law-application-amendment-bill-2026/history","analysis":"/api/acts/education-and-care-services-national-law-application-amendment-bill-2026/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/education-and-care-services-national-law-application-amendment-bill-2026/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/education-and-care-services-national-law-application-amendment-bill-2026/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/education-and-care-services-national-law-application-amendment-bill-2026/documents"}}