Children (Education and Care Services) Supplementary Provisions Regulation 2024

The regulation rests on a small set of concepts and mechanisms. These are stated in the text and determine how the National Law Regulations and the State Act operate together.

• National Law Regulations apply with modifications. Section 4 is the pivot. It applies the National Law Regulations to State regulated services "as if the services were education and care services within the meaning of the National Law", but subject to the modifications in the regulation. The section also states that the Act, sections 22, 24 and 26 apply to the National Law Regulations in the same way they apply to the National Law (s 4(2)). The note to s 4 clarifies that references in the National Law to the Regulatory Authority are to be read as references to the NSW Regulatory Authority, the Secretary of the Department of Education. The note also lists national-scheme references to be disregarded as per the Act, s 26.
• Disregard list. Section 5 identifies National Law Regulation provisions that must be disregarded when applying the National Law Regulations in NSW. The list is specific, naming regulations 69-71 and certain parts of the administration and qualifications chapters, and excluding most of Chapter 7 except for a small set of NSW-specific provisions (s 5).
• Interpretation rules. Section 6 prescribes how references in the National Law Regulations to National Law provisions, provider approvals, approved providers and centre-based services are to be read in NSW (s 6). This is the textual mechanism that aligns cross-references.
• Approval and condition mechanisms. The regulation sets conditions of approvals by linking them to the conditions prescribed in the National Law Regulations that are relevant to the type of State regulated service (s 11(1), s 12(1)). It then layers NSW-specific conditions, for example mobile service registers and obligations to ensure premises comply with an approved venue management plan (s 11(2)).
• Mobile services and venue management plans. Mobile education and care services are a focus. The regulation requires specific application content for mobile services (s 14) and requires an approved venue management plan where premises do not comply with enumerated provisions of the National Law Regulations (s 15). While an approved plan is in force and the service complies with it, the service is taken to comply with the specified National Law Regulations and those provisions are treated as not prescribed for the Act’s s 176 in relation to the service (s 15(3)(a)-(b)).
• Documentation tailoring. For occasional education and care services, the regulation removes the requirement in National Law Regulations regulation 74 but requires documented evidence about the development of the educational program (s 9).
• Transitional and repeal/transitional savings. The regulation contains transitional treatment for existing teaching staff and effect-saving provisions with the repeal of the 2019 regulation (s 17, s 18).

These concepts indicate the instrument’s method: import the National Law Regulations into the NSW supplementary framework, carve out specific national provisions, and add targeted NSW procedural and documentary adjustments. Decision authority for approvals and approvals-related discretion rests with the Regulatory Authority and the Secretary of the Department of Education as the NSW Regulatory Authority, through the mechanism of approvals and venue management plan approvals set out in the regulation (see s 4 note, s 15(2)).

The regulation identifies discrete groups directly affected by its terms and a broader class indirectly affected through the application of the National Law Regulations.

• Approved providers. The text repeatedly addresses approved providers. Conditions of provider approvals refer to conditions prescribed in the National Law Regulations relevant to the type of service (s 11(1)). Mobile approved providers have additional duties: keeping a register of premises addresses and proprietors and ensuring premises comply with venue management plans (s 11(2)(a)-(b)). Approved providers applying for service approvals must receive and hold a copy of the relevant service approval that states the type of service (s 7). Approved providers that run occasional education and care services are directly affected by the modification to documentation obligations under s 9.
• Service operators, including mobile education and care services. Mobile services face application content requirements (addresses of premises and occupation certificate if required under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979; s 14), venue management plan requirements when premises do not comply with specified National Law Regulation provisions (s 15). A mobile service that applies must obtain Regulatory Authority approval of a venue management plan before the Regulatory Authority will grant a service approval where a plan is required (s 15(2)). Mobile service operators must also follow the process for amending venue management plans and seek a consequential amendment to the service approval (s 16).
• Nominated supervisors and staff. Service approval conditions include the requirement that the approved provider develop, maintain and implement procedures to ensure nominated supervisors and all other staff comply with the conditions of the service approval that apply to them (s 12(2)). In s 12(3) the regulation defines staff for this purpose as persons employed for remuneration to provide the service.
• Regulatory Authority and authorised officers. The Regulatory Authority (Secretary of the Department of Education) is the decision-maker for approvals, venue plan approvals and dispensations for associated children’s services (s 13, s 15(2), s 16). Identity cards for authorised officers issued under the National Law must be in a prescribed form that complies with National Law Regulation 187 and must state that the officer is authorised to exercise functions under the Act (s 8). That places a documentary obligation on the issuing authority for those cards.
• Premises proprietors. Where a mobile service is provided at premises, the approved provider must keep a register of the address of each premises and the name of the proprietor (s 11(2)(a)). That register requirement brings premises proprietors into the compliance perimeter.
• Existing teaching staff employed before 27 May 2019. A person in that class is taken to be an early childhood teacher for the National Law Regulations until they cease employment at the service, effecting a transitional right that affects staffing classifications and presumably qualification burdens (s 17(1)). The definition of teaching staff member is drawn from the 2012 regulation as in force immediately before 27 May 2019 (s 17(2)).
• Users of the National Law Regulations in NSW. The regulation instructs courts, regulators, lawyers and administrators how to read references in the National Law Regulations when applied in NSW, which affects interpretation and compliance across the regulated sector (s 6).

Who pays and who decides. The textual allocation is clear: approved providers and their staff carry the primary compliance costs from registers, procedures, application content and venue management plans (s 11, s 12, s 14, s 15). The Regulatory Authority decides on approvals, venue plan acceptance and dispensations (s 13, s 15(2)). The issuing authority for identity cards must ensure compliance with the prescribed form and wording (s 8).

The regulation creates explicit duties for providers, applicants and the Regulatory Authority, and it recognises a limited discretion for the Regulatory Authority.

Duties on approved providers and applicants

• Keep a mobile service register. For a provider approval for a mobile education and care service, the approved provider must keep a register recording the address of each premises where the service is provided and the name of the proprietor of each premises (s 11(2)(a)). This is a documentary and record-keeping duty.
• Ensure premises comply with venue management plans. The approved provider must ensure that the premises of the service comply with the venue management plan for the premises (s 11(2)(b)).
• Develop and implement staff compliance procedures. A service approval is subject to a condition that the approved provider must develop, maintain and implement procedures to ensure the nominated supervisor and all other staff comply with conditions of the service approval that apply to them (s 12(2)). The regulation defines staff for this purpose as those employed for remuneration to provide the service (s 12(3)).
• Provide specified application material for mobile services. An application for a service approval for a mobile education and care service must include the addresses of premises at which the service will be provided, and where an occupation certificate is required under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 for the proposed use of the premises, a copy of that certificate (s 14).
• Obtain a venue management plan where premises do not comply with certain National Law Regulations. If a mobile service will operate on premises that do not comply with regulations 80, 104-110 or 112-115 of the National Law Regulations, the provider must submit a venue management plan to the Regulatory Authority and must not be granted a service approval until the plan is approved (s 15(1)-(2)). While an approved plan is in force and the service complies with it, the service is taken to comply with the specified National Law Regulations and those provisions are taken not to be prescribed for the Act’s s 176 in relation to the service (s 15(3)).
• Document educational program evidence for occasional services. Regulation 74 of the National Law Regulations does not apply to the approved provider of an occasional education and care service, but the approved provider must ensure evidence is documented about the development of the educational program for the children at the service (s 9(1)-(2)).

Duties on regulatory actors

• Identity card content and form. An identity card issued to an authorised officer under the National Law is prescribed if it complies with National Law Regulation 187 and states that the officer is authorised to exercise functions under the Act (s 8). That imposes a drafting/content duty on the issuer.
• Venue management plan approval. The Regulatory Authority must not grant a service approval for a mobile service that requires a venue management plan unless the plan has been approved (s 15(2)). The Regulatory Authority is the decision-maker on plan approval and on amendment applications for plans and associated service approval amendments (s 16(1)-(2)).

Rights, discretions and transitional provisions

• Regulatory Authority discretion on associated children’s services. The Regulatory Authority may dispense with the requirement to obtain a service approval for an associated children’s service that is authorised by a service approval under the National Law (s 13(1)). That is a narrow discretion allowing the Authority to reduce duplication.
• Copy of service approval content requirement. A copy of a service approval must state the type of State regulated education and care service for which it has been granted, which gives approved providers a right to a specified form of documentation (s 7).
• Transitional staffing classification. A person who was teaching staff immediately before 27 May 2019 is taken to be an early childhood teacher for the National Law Regulations until they stop being employed at the service (s 17(1)). This is a transitional recognition of status.

Procedural interactions with other rules

• Where the regulation takes particular National Law Regulations to be disregarded, duties tied to those provisions do not apply in NSW as provided by s 5 and s 4(3). Section 15 creates a mechanism by which a venue management plan can override strict compliance by treating specified National Law Regulations as complied with while the approved plan is in force and complied with (s 15(3)).

In sum, duties fall principally on approved providers for record-keeping, application content, staff-procedures and venue planning, while the Regulatory Authority has approval and dispensing discretions and documentary duties for identity cards and approvals.

The regulation itself does not create or set out monetary penalties or criminal offences. Its enforcement is achieved through the approval and condition mechanisms embedded in the Act and the National Law Regulations as they apply in NSW. The text supplies the following enforcement-related mechanics and decision points.

Regulatory gatekeeping and conditions

• Approval gating. The Regulatory Authority must not grant a service approval for a mobile education and care service if a venue management plan is required but not approved (s 15(2)). That creates a procedural enforcement lever; access to authorisation is conditioned on plan approval.
• Conditions imposing ongoing obligations. Provider and service approvals are subject to conditions. For example, provider approvals are subject to conditions prescribed in the National Law Regulations, plus mobile-service specific conditions such as maintaining a premises register and ensuring compliance with venue management plans (s 11(1)-(2)). Service approvals are subject to conditions prescribed in the National Law Regulations and to a condition requiring approved providers to implement procedures to ensure staff compliance (s 12(1)-(2)). Conditions attached to approvals provide the legal basis under the Act for regulatory action if breached, though the regulation does not itself spell out the consequences for breach.
• Documentary obligations as compliance levers. Duties such as providing addresses and occupation certificates in applications (s 14), keeping a register of premises and proprietors (s 11(2)(a)), and documenting evidence of program development for occasional services (s 9(2)) generate records that the Regulatory Authority can inspect and on which it can base compliance findings.

Authorised officer tools

• Identity cards and authorisation. The form requirement for identity cards (s 8) supports authorised officer identification and is an administrative precondition for authorised officers exercising functions under the Act. The regulatory framework outside this instrument then supplies the powers and enforcement avenues available to authorised officers.

Absence of explicit penalty provisions

• No new offence or penalty clauses are contained in the regulation. Any penalties, infringement mechanisms or enforcement sanctions arise under the Act and the National Law Regulations as applied in NSW. Section 4(2) and the notes indicate that many National Law and Act provisions govern the relationship between approvals, the Regulatory Authority and the National Law framework; enforcement therefore depends on those instruments.

Practical enforcement implications

• The regulation converts compliance into approval eligibility and condition compliance. The principal enforcement route is administrative: refusal to grant or amend approvals, conditions on approvals, and use of records to determine compliance. Breaches of approval conditions ordinarily attract whatever powers, sanctions and remedial mechanisms are available under the Act and the National Law Regulations, but those are not restated here.

In short, enforcement under this regulation is administrative and documentary, operated through the approvals regime and the Regulatory Authority’s approvals and inspection functions, rather than by creating independent new offences or penalty schedules in the regulation text.

The regulation explicitly positions itself as a conduit for applying the National Law Regulations in NSW, and it references other statutory instruments where relevant. The key interaction features in the text are as follows.

Hierarchical and interpretive interactions

• Import and modification of the National Law Regulations. Part 2 states that the National Law Regulations apply to State regulated education and care services with the modifications specified in this regulation, "as if the services were education and care services within the meaning of the National Law" (s 4(1)). Section 6 further prescribes how references in the National Law Regulations must be read in the NSW context, for example substituting references to provider and service approvals with approvals under the Act (s 6(a)-(c)).
• Interaction with the Act. The regulation repeatedly cross-references the Act, for example stating that provider and service approval conditions apply "for the National Law Alignment Provisions, section 19(1)" and "section 51(5)" respectively (s 11(1), s 12(1)). Section 16A modifies the Act itself, inserting "and Division 4A" after "273" in section 21(1)(aa) of the Act, showing a textual interplay where the regulation both implements and amends the parent Act (s 16A).

Specific cross-Act references

• Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. An application for a mobile service must include a copy of an occupation certificate if one is required under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 for the proposed use of the premises (s 14). This creates a concrete cross-compliance requirement linking planning/land-use certification to service approvals.
• National Law and National Quality Framework. The regulation’s notes and the text refer to the National Law and the National Quality Standard in specifying which national-scheme matters are disregarded in NSW. For instance, s 4(2) notes that references in the National Law to the Regulatory Authority are to be read as references to the NSW Regulatory Authority, and s 4(2) cites the Act, s 26 list of references to be disregarded.
• Relationship with the previous NSW supplementary regulation. Section 18 expressly repeals the 2019 Supplementary Provisions Regulation and saves existing acts and matters that had effect under the 2019 regulation so they continue to have effect under the 2024 regulation (s 18(1)-(2)). This establishes continuity and transition between the two instruments.
• National Law Regulations to be disregarded. Section 5 lists particular National Law Regulations and parts to be disregarded. That affects how the National Law framework interacts with NSW law by carving out national-level provisions dealing with functions of the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, qualifications approval and selected administrative provisions (s 5).

Administrative and operational interactions

• Regulatory Authority role. The regulation places decision-making responsibility on the NSW Regulatory Authority for approvals, venue management plan approval and dispensation for associated children’s services (s 13, s 15(2)). The note to s 4 makes explicit that references to the Regulatory Authority in National Law materials are to be read as references to the NSW Regulatory Authority, the Secretary of the Department of Education (s 4 note).
• Authorised officer identity cards. Section 8 requires that identity cards for authorised officers comply with National Law Regulation 187 and state the officer’s authorisation under the Act. This ties the administrative practice of issuing identity cards to both national and state forms.

Taken together, the regulation operates as a statutory bridge. It imports and modifies the National Law Regulations into the NSW statutory ecosystem, inserts specific documentary and approval requirements that draw on an external planning statute for occupation certificates, and amends the parent Act. Its interaction model is therefore one of textual substitution, selective exclusion, and procedural linking to other statutory regimes.

The instrument contains explicit textual pointers to its own place in the legislative sequence and to one later insertion. The amendment and repeal history available in the regulation is as follows.

• Repeal of the 2019 Regulation. Section 18(1) repeals the Children (Education and Care Services) Supplementary Provisions Regulation 2019. Section 2, the commencement clause, notes that the 2024 regulation repeals and replaces the 2019 regulation, which would otherwise have been repealed on 1 September 2024 by operation of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989, section 10(2). Section 18(2) provides savings, preserving acts, matters or things that had effect immediately before repeal under the 2019 regulation so they continue to have effect under the 2024 regulation (s 18(2)).
• Commencement timing. Section 2 states the regulation commences on the day on which it is published on the NSW legislation website. The commencement note also explains the relationship with the non-regulatory expiry that would otherwise have applied to the 2019 regulation (s 2 note).
• Later insertion. Section 16A is followed by an editorial note showing it was inserted in 2026: "s 16A: Ins 2026 (54), Sch 2." The text of s 16A itself modifies the Act by inserting "and Division 4A" after "273" in section 21(1)(aa). That indicates a subsequent amendment to the instrument or to the Act via the regulation text at a later date, and the marginal note records that insertion year and source. The presence of this insertion shows that the regulation has been the subject of at least one later amendment captured in the text.
• Transitional provision. Section 17 is a transitional provision that applies to persons who were teaching staff immediately before 27 May 2019. That clause refers back to the 2012 regulation for the definition of teaching staff member and is a carryover transitional rule retained for that cohort.
• In-regulation notes of external text. Several sections contain notes that identify interacting statutory material, such as the Act, the National Law, the Interpretation Act 1987 and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. Those notes indicate cross-referencing rather than amendments, but they do mark the regulation’s temporal relationship to other instruments.

No other amendment chronology is provided in the text. The published marginal note for s 16A is the sole explicit record of post-enactment amendment visible in the regulation as provided. The repeal and savings clause ensures that the 2019 instrument’s prior effects continue, unless displaced by a specific new rule in the 2024 regulation.

The regulation text contains no litigation history, no reported judicial consideration, and names no cases. The instrument includes notes and cross-references to the Act and the National Law, but it does not identify any court decisions, tribunal determinations, or litigation outcomes that interpret or apply its provisions.

Implications of absence of litigation history

• Lack of authoritative judicial interpretation. Because the provided text contains no case law, readers should note there are no judicially settled points recorded in the instrument itself about contested meanings, application of venue management plans, the scope of the Regulatory Authority’s discretion under s 13, or the interaction with the National Law.
• Reliance on administrative interpretation. In the absence of litigation, operational interpretation will be made by the Regulatory Authority through practice notes, approval decisions and internal procedures, and by administrative officers and authorised officers exercising functions under the Act. Those administrative interpretations will establish practical norms in the first instance.
• Potential litigation triggers. Although the regulation does not state enforcement penalties, its operation on approvals, conditions and venue management plans creates potential points of contention that could lead to administrative reviews or litigation under the Act. Examples (textual only) include denial of a service approval because a venue management plan was not accepted (s 15(2)), disputes about whether a premises complies with the National Law Regulations or whether a venue management plan adequately mitigates non-compliance, and disputes over the scope of a provider’s condition obligations such as staff procedures (s 12(2)). The regulation itself does not record any such disputes.
• No named precedents. The instrument does not cite or rely on any judicial precedent. Any legal advice or litigation strategy must therefore proceed from the statutory text and anticipate administrative practice and potential judicial interpretation in future proceedings.

In short, there is no litigation history recorded in the regulation. The operational consequences of the regulatory changes will therefore be established by administrative implementation and any future litigation, rather than by existing case law recorded in the instrument.

The regulation contains several specific points that may catch practitioners and operators by surprise if not carefully attended to. These are concrete compliance and procedural traps signalled in the text.

Mobile services, venue plans, and approval gating

• Venue management plan is a gatekeeper for approval. If a mobile education and care service intends to operate on premises that do not comply with specified National Law Regulations, a venue management plan must be submitted and approved before the Regulatory Authority grants the service approval (s 15(1)-(2)). Practitioners should note that failure to obtain pre-approval of the plan will block the grant of a service approval, not merely expose the provider to after-the-fact sanction.
• Scope of the prescribed non-compliance. The trigger list in s 15(1) points to regulation 80 and regulations 104-110 and 112-115 of the National Law Regulations. Operators planning mobile-service activity on premises that may not meet those specific regulatory standards must budget time and resources to prepare a venue management plan that the Regulatory Authority will accept.
• Temporary substitution of compliance rules. While an approved venue management plan is in force and the mobile service complies with the plan, the service is taken to comply with the specified National Law Regulations and those provisions are taken not to be prescribed for the purposes of the Act’s s 176 in relation to the service (s 15(3)). That creates a conditional compliance pathway, but it requires strict adherence to the approved plan. Non-compliance with the plan would remove that conditional compliance.

Documentary and register obligations

• Register content for mobile providers. A mobile-service provider approval must be accompanied by a register with the address of each premises where the service is provided and the name of the proprietor of each premises (s 11(2)(a)). The need to record proprietor names may require engagement with and consent from premises owners, and it creates an ongoing record-keeping duty.
• Occupation certificate requirement for some premises. Applications for mobile services must include addresses and, where an occupation certificate is required for the proposed use under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, a copy of that certificate (s 14). Applicants should therefore check planning and building compliance early in the process.
• Occasional services programme documentation. Regulation 74 of the National Law Regulations does not apply to the approved provider of an occasional education and care service, but the provider must ensure that evidence is documented about the development of the educational program (s 9). Operators who assumed the National Law requirement applied unchanged may need to alter their record-keeping systems to produce the documentary evidence called for here.

Scope-of-reference risks

• Disregarded national provisions. Section 5 lists national provisions to be disregarded. Practitioners must not assume that all National Law Regulations automatically apply; the listed exclusions remove certain national regulatory machinery in NSW. For example, regulations relating to some assessment and rating functions of the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority are disregarded (s 5(a)). Failure to note these exclusions can lead to misapplied compliance obligations.
• Interpretation substitutions. Section 6 requires reading references to provider approvals, service approvals and approved providers as references to approvals and providers under the Act. Documents or compliance templates that simply quote National Law references without this substitution may be misleading (s 6(b)-(c)).

Identity card formality

• Identity card wording required. An identity card for an authorised officer must comply with National Law Regulation 187 and state that the officer is authorised to exercise functions under the Act (s 8). Issuers must ensure the card’s wording and form meet both the national regulation and this state-specific statement.

Transitional status nuance

• Transitional “teacher” status limited in time to employment. Section 17 takes persons who were teaching staff immediately before 27 May 2019 to be early childhood teachers for the National Law Regulations "until the person stops being employed at the service" (s 17(1)). That status is therefore not permanent or portable beyond the current employment; cessation of employment ends the transitional recognition.

Document content obligations

• Service approval copy content. A service approval copy must state the type of State regulated education and care service for which the approval has been granted (s 7). Administrative documents lacking this explicit statement may fail to meet the regulation.

Amendment insertion note

• 2026 insertion for s 16A. The marginal notation "s 16A: Ins 2026 (54), Sch 2" indicates a post-enactment insertion. Practitioners should be alert to future amendments or consequential changes signalled by that insertion in the regulation’s margin, particularly where it modifies language in the parent Act (s 16A).

In practice, the common operational gotchas are failure to obtain an approved venue management plan before applying or operating on non-compliant premises, incomplete application material for mobile services including missing occupation certificates, failure to keep the required registers for mobile services, and misunderstanding which National Law Regulations are disapplied in NSW under s 5.

Compliance under this regulation is a mix of documentary readiness, process mapping, and liaison with the Regulatory Authority and premises proprietors. Below are practical steps, each tied to the regulation provisions.

1. Review whether the National Law Regulations apply to your service and how. Read s 4 and s 6 to understand that the National Law Regulations apply to State regulated education and care services with the modifications in this regulation, and that references to approvals and providers must be read as approvals and providers under the Act (s 4(1)-(2); s 6). Update templates and compliance manuals to substitute references accordingly.

2. Identify whether any National Law Regulations are disregarded for your service. Consult s 5 and confirm whether your obligations originate from any of the listed National Law Regulations that are explicitly disregarded. If compliance obligations in your practice rely on one of those provisions, seek confirmation from the Regulatory Authority about the applicable NSW requirement.

3. For provider approvals, ensure prescribed conditions are incorporated. Section 11(1) ties provider approval conditions to the conditions prescribed in the National Law Regulations relevant to the service type. For mobile services, add the specific NSW conditions: maintain the register of premises and proprietors and ensure premises comply with applicable venue management plans (s 11(2)).

4. Prepare and maintain the mobile-service register. If operating a mobile education and care service, create and maintain a register recording each premises address and the proprietor’s name, as required by s 11(2)(a). Ensure accessible, up-to-date records for inspection.

5. For mobile services, prepare application material in advance. An application must list the premises addresses and, where an occupation certificate is required under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 for the proposed use, attach a copy of that certificate (s 14). Check planning/building status early and secure occupation certificates where necessary.

6. Assess premises compliance against specified National Law Regulations. For any premises where a mobile service intends to operate, check whether they comply with National Law Regulations regulation 80, regulations 104-110 and 112-115. If they do not comply, prepare a venue management plan detailing how child safety and well-being will be ensured despite non-compliance (s 15(1)). Do not operate on non-compliant premises without an approved plan.

7. Submit and secure Regulatory Authority approval of venue management plans before seeking service approval. The Regulatory Authority will not grant a service approval for a mobile service requiring a venue management plan unless it has approved the plan (s 15(2)). Prepare the plan to demonstrate controls, mitigations and operational procedures that align with the safety and well-being standard in s 15(4) definition of venue management plan.

8. While a venue management plan is in force, document strict adherence. When relying on an approved venue management plan to stand in for specified National Law Regulations, document compliance with the plan carefully, because the plan’s effect,treating the service as complying with those National Law Regulations,applies only while the service complies with the plan (s 15(3)).

9. For any amendment to a venue management plan, follow the approval and service-approval amendment process. An approved provider intending to change a venue management plan must apply to the Regulatory Authority for approval of the revised plan and for an amendment to the service approval, and include a copy of the revised plan with the amendment application per s 16(1)-(2).

10. Put staff-compliance procedures in place. Service approvals require that approved providers develop, maintain and implement procedures to ensure nominated supervisors and all other staff comply with conditions of the service approval that apply to them (s 12(2)). Draft written procedures, train staff, and maintain evidence of implementation.

11. For occasional education and care services, document programme-development evidence. Although National Law Regulation 74 does not apply to occasional services under s 9(1), the approved provider must ensure evidence is documented about development of the educational programme (s 9(2)). Implement routine documentation practices that capture programme planning and development.

12. Ensure service approval copies include service type. When a copy of a service approval is provided to an approved provider, ensure it states the type of State regulated education and care service for which the approval is granted (s 7). Update approval documentation templates to include the service type explicitly.

13. Check identity card templates for authorised officers. If issuing or verifying authorised officer identity cards, ensure cards comply with National Law Regulation 187 and state that the officer is authorised to exercise functions under the Act (s 8). Maintain records confirming the required wording and form.

14. Keep track of transitional status for pre-2019 teaching staff. For staff who were teaching staff immediately before 27 May 2019, understand that they are taken to be early childhood teachers for the National Law Regulations until they leave employment at the service (s 17(1)-(2)). Document their employment dates to demonstrate reliance on this transitional provision.

15. Maintain an audit trail to support compliance. The regulation’s enforcement approach is documentary and administrative. Maintain records of registers, venue management plans, staff-procedure documents, occupation certificates, service approval copies and programme development evidence to support compliance and to be able to respond to Regulatory Authority enquiries.

Finally, communicate early with the Regulatory Authority where premises are marginally compliant, and seek guidance on the sufficiency of venue management plans. Because s 15(2) makes plan approval a precondition to grant of service approval where a plan is required, early engagement reduces the risk of delays or refusal.