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Western Australia regulation
**What these Regulations do (mechanics)
Set out detailed rules that govern all aspects of regulated early childhood education and care services operating in Western Australia under the national Law. They translate high‑level obligations in the Education and Care Services National Law into concrete requirements for approvals, staffing, premises, programs, health and safety, record‑keeping, assessments and fees.
Tell prospective providers what information to supply to get a provider approval or a service approval (e.g. identity, criminal history, premises plans, insurance) (see regs 14–26, 25, 29–32).
Prescribe operational standards providers must meet every day: minimum educator:child ratios and qualification mixes (regs 121–126, 369), required presence or access to early childhood teachers (regs 130–135), first aid and anaphylaxis training (reg 136), safe premises and space per child (regs 103, 107–108), food, hygiene and sleep/rest rules (regs 77–80, 84A–84C), excursion and transport risk assessments and authorisations (regs 100–102, 102B–102D), and family day care specific rules (regs 116, 124, 153).
Create the assessment and rating system used to judge services against the National Quality Standard (Schedule 1) and describe the rating levels and how to seek reassessment or review (Parts 3.1–3.5; regs 55–71).
Require particular records, display and notification obligations (enrolments, incident logs, attendance, insurance, policies), set retention periods, and restrict how records may be disclosed (regs 158–184, 181–183).
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Direct links to the current provisions in Education and Care Services National Regulations 2012.
Chapter 1 — Preliminary
Citation 1
Authorising provisions 1
Commencement 1
Definitions 2
Services that are not education and care services 10
Eligible association 13
Prescribed rating system 13
National Quality Standard 14
Prescribed entities 14
Meaning of actively working towards a qualification 14
Meaning of in attendance at a centre‑based service 15
Meaning of serious incident 16
Meaning of working directly with children 17
Chapter 2 — Approvals
Part 2.1 — Provider approvals
Application for provider approval by individual 18
Application for provider approval by person other than an individual 20
Matters relating to criminal history 21
Application for amendment of provider approval 21
Maximum period of suspension of provider approval 22
Application for voluntary suspension of provider approval 22
Application by individual executor for provider approval 22
Application by executor other than an individual for provider approval 24
Application by individual for provider approval on incapacity of approved provider 25
Application by person other than an individual for provider approval on incapacity of approved provider 27
Part 2.2 — Service approvals
Division 1 — Applications for service approvals
Application for service approval — centre‑based service 28
Additional information about proposed education and care service premises 30
25A. Application for service approval for a centre‑based service — relocation of existing centre‑based service 32
Application for service approval — family day care service 32
Additional matters to have regard to in determining application for service approval 35
Additional grounds for refusal to grant service approval 36
Condition on service approval — insurance 37
Condition on service approval — family day care educator insurance 37
Condition on service approval — quality improvement plan 37
Condition on service approval — entitlement to occupy premises 38
32A. Condition on service approval — maximum number of family day care educators 38
Division 2 — Amendment of service approval and notice of change to nominated supervisor
Prescribed information for application to amend service approval 39
Notice of addition of new nominated supervisor 40
Division 3 — Transfer of service approval
Notice of transfer of service approval — centre‑based service 41
Notice of transfer of service approval — family day care service 42
Notification of decision to intervene in transfer of service approval 42
Division 4 — Suspension of service approval
Maximum period of suspension of service approval 43
Application for voluntary suspension of service approval 43
Division 5 — Service waiver
Service waiver — prescribed regulations 43
Prescribed information — application for service waiver 44
Prescribed period — revocation of service waiver 45
Division 6 — Temporary waiver
Temporary waiver — prescribed regulations 45
Application for temporary waiver 46
Chapter 3 — Assessments and ratings
Part 3.1 — Quality improvement plans
Quality improvement plans 48
Review and revision of quality improvement plans 49
Part 3.2 — Prescribed rating levels
Rating levels 49
Prescribed provisional rating 50
Significant Improvement Required 50
Working Towards National Quality Standard 50
Meeting National Quality Standard 51
Exceeding National Quality Standard 51
Part 3.3 — Assessment
Division 1 — Assessment
Assessing approved education and care services 53
Matters for determination of rating 55
Assessment and rating of new education and care services 55
Division 2 — Reassessment
Application for reassessment 55
Reassessment by Regulatory Authority 56
Part 3.4 — Review of ratings
Division 1 — Review of ratings by Regulatory Authority
Division 2 — Review of ratings by Ratings Review Panel
Application for further review by Ratings Review Panel 57
Prescribed areas of expertise or expert knowledge of Ratings Review Panel pool 57
Part 3.5 — Highest rating
70A. Prescribed rating levels for application for highest rating 58
Part 3.6 — Offences
Chapter 4 — Operational requirements
Part 4.1AA — Location of principal office
72A. Location of principal office of family day care service 61
Part 4.1 — Educational program and practice
Educational program 62
Documenting of child assessments and evidence of development of educational programs 62
Information about educational program to be kept available 63
Information about educational program to be given to parents 64
Part 4.2 — Children’s health and safety
Division 1 — Health, safety and wellbeing of children
Health, hygiene and safe food practices 64
Food and beverages 65
Service providing food and beverages 66
Weekly menu 68
Environment to be free from tobacco, vaping devices, vaping substances, drugs and alcohol 69
Staff members and family day care educators not to be affected by alcohol or drugs 70
Awareness of child protection law 71
Division 1A — Sleep and rest
84A. Sleep and rest 71
84B. Sleep and rest policies and procedures 72
84C. Risk assessment for purposes of sleep and rest policies and procedures 74
84D. Prohibition of bassinets 76
Division 2 — Incidents, injury, trauma and illness
Incident, injury, trauma and illness policies and procedures 77
Notification to parents of incident, injury, trauma and illness 77
Incident, injury, trauma and illness record 77
Infectious diseases 79
First aid kits 80
Division 3 — Medical conditions policy
Medical conditions policy 81
Medical conditions policy to be provided to parents 83
Division 4 — Administration of medication
Medication record 83
Administration of medication 84
Exception to authorisation requirement — anaphylaxis or asthma emergency 86
Procedure for administration of medication 86
Self‑administration of medication 87
Division 5 — Emergencies and communication
Emergency and evacuation procedures 88
Telephone or other communication equipment 90
Division 6 — Collection of children from premises and excursions
Children leaving the education and care service premises 91
Risk assessment must be conducted before excursion 91
Conduct of risk assessment for excursion 92
Authorisation for excursions 93
Division 6A — Safe arrival of children
102AA. Definition 95
102AAB. Safe arrival of children policies and procedures 95
102AAC. Risk assessment for the purposes of safe arrival of children policies and procedures 96
Division 7 — Transportation of children other than as part of excursion
102A. Application of Division 98
102B. Transport risk assessment must be conducted before service transports child 99
102C. Conduct of risk assessment for transporting of children by education and care service 100
102D. Authorisation for service to transport children 101
102E. Children embarking a means of transport — centre‑based service 102
102F. Children disembarking a means of transport — centre‑based service 104
Part 4.3 — Physical environment
Division 1 — Centre‑based services and family day care services
Premises, furniture and equipment to be safe, clean and in good repair 105
Fencing 106
Furniture, materials and equipment 106
Laundry and hygiene facilities 107
Space requirements — indoor space 107
Space requirements — outdoor space 108
Toilet and hygiene facilities 110
Ventilation and natural light 110
Division 2 — Additional requirements for centre‑based services
Administrative space 110
Nappy change facilities 111
Outdoor space — natural environment 112
Outdoor space — shade 112
Premises designed to facilitate supervision 112
Division 3 — Additional provisions for family day care services
116A. Inspection of swimming pools, water features and other potential water hazards at family day care residences and approved family day care venues 115
116B. Inspection report 115
116C. Compliance with fencing requirements for swimming pools at family day care residences and approved family day care venues 115
Part 4.3A — Minimum requirements for persons in day‑to‑day charge and nominated supervisors
117A. Placing a person in day‑to‑day charge 116
117B. Minimum requirements for a person in day‑to‑day charge 117
117C. Minimum requirements for a nominated supervisor 118
Part 4.4 — Staffing arrangements
Division 1 — Educational leader
Division 2 — Age and supervision requirements
Family day care educator and family day care educator assistant to be at least 18 years old 119
Educators who are under 18 to be supervised 120
Division 3 — Minimum number of educators and family day care co‑ordinators required
Application of Division 3 120
Educators must be working directly with children to be included in ratios 121
Educator to child ratios — centre‑based services 121
123A. Family day care co‑ordinator to educator ratios — family day care service 124
Division 4 — Educational qualifications for educators
Application of Division 4 127
Centre‑based services — general educator qualifications 127
126A. Illness or absence of qualified educator who is required to meet relevant educator to child ratio 128
Family day care educator qualifications 129
Family day care co‑ordinator qualifications 130
Division 5 — Requirements for educators who are early childhood teachers
Application of Division 5 130
Requirement for early childhood teacher — centre‑based services — fewer than 25 approved places 130
Requirement for early childhood teacher — centre‑based services — 25 or more approved places but fewer than 25 children 131
Requirement for early childhood teacher — centre‑based services — 25 to 59 children 131
Requirement for early childhood teacher — centre‑based services — 60 to 80 children 132
Requirement for early childhood teacher — centre‑based services — more than 80 children 133
Illness or absence of early childhood teacher or suitably qualified person 134
Division 6 — First aid qualifications
Division 7 — Approval and determination of qualifications
Approval of qualifications 139
Application for qualification to be assessed for inclusion on the list of approved qualifications 141
Application for determination of equivalent qualification 141
Application for determination of an equivalent qualification 142
Additional information for application for determination of equivalent qualification 144
Translations of documents 145
Certification of documents 146
Division 7A — Minimum requirements for a family day care educator
143A. Minimum requirements for a family day care educator 146
143B. Ongoing management of family day care educators 147
Division 8 — Family day care educator assistant
Division 9 — Staff and educator records — centre‑based services
Staff record 150
Nominated supervisor 150
Staff members 151
Educational leader 152
Volunteers and students 152
Responsible person 153
Record of educators working directly with children 153
Record of access to early childhood teachers 154
152A. Record of replacement of educator 154
152B. Record of replacement of early childhood teacher or suitably qualified person 155
Division 10 — Register of family day care educators, co‑ordinators and assistants and records of family day care service
Register of family day care educators, co-ordinators and educator assistants 156
Record of staff engaged or employed by family day care service 163
Part 4.5 — Relationships with children
Interactions with children 164
Relationships in groups 164
Part 4.6 — Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
Part 4.7 — Governance and leadership
Division 1 — Management of services
Children’s attendance record to be kept by approved provider 166
Children’s attendance record to be kept by family day care educator 167
Child enrolment records to be kept by approved provider and family day care educator 167
Authorisations to be kept in enrolment record 169
Health information to be kept in enrolment record 170
Residents at family day care residence and family day care educator assistants to be fit and proper persons 172
Requirement for notice in relation to persons at residence 173
Record of visitors 175
Children not to be alone with visitors 175
Record of service’s compliance 176
Division 2 — Policies and procedures
Education and care service must have policies and procedures 177
Additional policies and procedures — family day care service 180
Policies and procedures to be followed 181
Policies and procedures to be kept available 182
Notification of change to policies or procedures 183
Division 3 — Information and record‑keeping requirements
Prescribed information to be displayed 183
Time to notify certain circumstances to Regulatory Authority 186
174A. Prescribed information to accompany notice 186
Prescribed information to be notified to Regulatory Authority 187
Time to notify certain information to Regulatory Authority 189
176A. Prescribed information to be notified to approved provider by family day care educator 190
Prescribed enrolment and other documents to be kept by approved provider 190
Prescribed enrolment and other documents to be kept by family day care educator 194
Family day care educator to provide documents on leaving service 196
Evidence of prescribed insurance 196
Confidentiality of records kept by approved provider 197
Confidentiality of records kept by family day care educator 197
Storage of records and other documents 198
Storage of records after service approval transferred 199
Law and regulations to be available 199
Chapter 5 — Review, enforcement and compliance
Part 5.1 — Internal review
Part 5.2 — Enforcement and compliance
Prescribed form of identity card 202
Compliance directions 202
Application to cancel prohibition notice 203
Infringement offences 203
False or misleading information or documents 205
Chapter 6 — Administration
Part 6.1 — Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority
Co‑operation with prescribed classes of body 206
Allocating, transferring or reimbursing money to a participating jurisdiction 207
Investment of Authority Fund 207
Part 6.2 — Information, records and privacy — National Authority and Regulatory Authorities
Division 1 — Application of Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988
Application of Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 208
Modifications relating to National Education and Care Services Privacy Commissioner and staff 208
Modifications about financial matters 210
Modifications about annual report 211
Modifications relating to National Authority and Regulatory Authorities 211
Modifications relating to determinations 212
Miscellaneous modifications 212
Relevant administrative tribunal 214
Regulations 215
Division 2 — Application of Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act 1982
Application of Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act 1982 215
Modifications relating to National Education and Care Services Freedom of Information Commissioner and staff 216
Modifications about financial matters 218
Modifications about annual report 219
Modifications relating to National Authority and Regulatory Authorities 220
Miscellaneous modifications 221
Relevant administrative tribunal 223
Regulations 223
Division 3 — Application of New South Wales State Records Act 1998
Application of State Records Act 224
Modifications relating to State Records Authority and its Board and Director 224
Modifications relating to National Authority 224
Modifications relating to Ministerial Council 225
Miscellaneous modifications 225
Regulations 228
Division 4 — Application of Commonwealth Ombudsman Act 1976
Application of Commonwealth Ombudsman Act 228
Modifications relating to Education and Care Services Ombudsman and staff 228
Modifications about financial matters 229
Modifications about annual report 230
Modifications relating to National Authority and Regulatory Authorities 231
Miscellaneous modifications 231
Relevant administrative tribunal 233
Regulations 234
Division 5 — Publication of information
Publication of information 234
Compliance and enforcement information 234
Timing of publication where internal or external review of enforcement action is available 238
Division 6 — Registers
Register of approved providers 239
Register of approved education and care services 239
Part 6.3 — Fees
Division 1 — Provisions applying generally to fees
Definitions 240
Calculation of indexation factor for financial year 241
Fee amount to be rounded down to nearest whole dollar 242
Late payment fees (annual fees) 242
Waiver, reduction, deferral and refund of fees 243
236A. Publication of prescribed and other required fees 243
Division 2 — Prescribed and other fees between commencement day and 30 June 2023
236B. Prescribed fees and other fees for period beginning on commencement day and ending on 30 June 2023 243
Division 3 — Prescribed and other fees on and after 1 July 2023
236C. Prescribed fee — application for provider approval 244
236D. Prescribed fees — application for service approval 245
236E. Prescribed annual fees 248
236F. Prescribed fee — application for amendment of service approval 250
236G. Prescribed fee — notification of intended transfer of service approval 251
236H. Prescribed fee — application for service waiver 253
236I. Prescribed fee — application for temporary waiver 253
236J. Prescribed fee — application to extend temporary waiver 254
236K. Prescribed fee — application for reassessment and re‑rating 254
236L. Prescribed fee — application for review by Ratings Review Panel of rating level 255
236M. Prescribed fees — copy of or extract from registers 258
236N. Prescribed fees — other applications 258
236O. Relevant fee — application for qualification to be assessed for inclusion on list of approved qualifications 259
236P. Relevant fee — application for determination of equivalent qualification 260
Part 6.4 — Delegations
Chapter 7 — Jurisdiction‑specific and transitional and saving provisions
Part 7.1 — General transitional and saving provisions
Division 2 — Staffing arrangements
239A. Centre‑based services in remote and very remote areas — attendance of early childhood teachers 263
Persons taken to hold an approved early childhood teaching qualification 265
Persons taken to be early childhood teachers 267
Persons taken to hold an approved diploma level education and care qualification 268
243A. Persons taken to hold an approved diploma level education and care qualification for regulation 128 in Queensland 269
Division 3 — Physical environment
Centre‑based service offering a preschool program in a composite class in a school 270
Declared approved services (other than declared approved family day care services) 270
Declared approved family day care services 271
Declared out of scope services 272
Division 4 — Information retention and sharing
Information held by Regulatory Authority or regulatory body 273
Information kept by approved provider 273
Division 5 — Declared approved learning frameworks
Division 6 — Fees
Division 7 — General provisions relating to exemptions
Publication where service taken to comply with regulations 274
Application for removal of exemption 275
Part 7.2 — Australian Capital Territory — specific provisions
Part 7.3 — New South Wales — specific provisions
Part 7.4 — Northern Territory — specific provisions
Part 7.5 — Queensland — specific provisions
Part 7.6 — South Australia — specific provisions
Part 7.7 — Tasmania — specific provisions
Part 7.8 — Victoria — specific provisions
Part 7.9 — Western Australia — specific provisions
Division 1 — Application of Part 7.9
Application of Part 7.9 276
Definitions 276
Division 1A — Exceeding National Quality Standard
368A. Exceeding National Quality Standard: educational program and practice quality area 277
Division 2 — Minimum number of educators and qualifications required — children over preschool age
Division 3 — Minimum number of educators and qualifications required — centre‑based services — children preschool age or under
Educator to child ratio — pre‑kindergarten programme or kindergarten programme provided by a school 281
Early childhood teachers — pre‑kindergarten programme or kindergarten programme provided by a school 281
Division 3A — Communication equipment at family day care residences and approved family day care venues
373A. Telephones or other communication equipment at family day care residences and approved family day care venues 282
Division 3B — Swimming pools, outdoor spas and hazardous water features at family day care residences and approved family day care venues
373B. Terms used 283
373C. Conditions on service approval: restrictions on engaging or registering educators operating at residence or venue with swimming pool or outdoor spa 284
373D. Condition on service approval: register of residences and venues with swimming pool, outdoor spa or hazardous water feature 286
373DA. Condition on service approval: safety devices for swimming pools and outdoor spas 287
373E. Condition on service approval: water hazard safety inspections 287
373F. Offences relating to water hazard safety inspection reports: approved provider 290
373G. Offences relating to water hazard safety inspection reports: family day care educator 292
Division 4 — Transitional provisions — staffing arrangements
Division 5 — Saving provision — physical environment
Division 6 — Other transitional matters
Monetary orders under former education and care services law 294
Proceedings under former education and care services law 294
Part 7.10 — Transitional and savings provisions — Education and Care Services National Amendment Regulations (No. 3) 2018
Division 2 — Australian Capital Territory
Division 3 — New South Wales
Division 4 — Queensland
Division 5 — Tasmania
Division 6 — Western Australia
Part 7.11 — Transitional and savings provisions for Education and Care Services National Amendment Regulations 2018
Definition 296
Quality improvement plan held prior to commencement day 296
Assessments commenced prior to commencement day 297
Reassessment or partial reassessment commenced prior to commencement day 297
Partial reassessment between the commencement day and the relevant day 298
Suspension of initial assessment or reassessment commenced prior to commencement day 299
Suspension of partial reassessment commenced prior to commencement day 299
Prescribed provisional rating level held prior to commencement day 300
Prescribed rating level held prior to commencement day 300
Part 7.12 — Transitional and saving provisions for Education and Care Services National Amendment Regulations 2019
Division 1 — Australian Capital Territory
Division 2 — Queensland
Division 3 — Tasmania
Division 4 — Western Australia
Part 7.13 — Transitional and saving provisions for Education and Care Services National Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 2021
Division 1 — General transitional and savings provision
Division 2 — Northern Territory
Part 7.14 — Transitional and savings provisions for Education and Care Services National Amendment Regulations (No. 3) 2023
Division 1 — General
Part 7.15 — Transitional and savings provisions for Education and Care Services National Amendment Regulations (No. 4) 2023
Schedule 1 — National Quality Standard
Schedule 2 — Prescribed fees for period beginning on commencement day and ending on 30 June 2023
Schedule 3 — Compliance directions — prescribed provisions
Schedule 4 — Prescribed forms
Notes
Compilation table 326
Uncommenced provisions table 329
Other notes 329
Defined terms
Education and Care Services National Law (Western Australia)
Guide to Chapter 1.
This Chapter sets out the title to these Regulations, the provisions of the Education and Care Services National Law that authorise these Regulations and the commencement date for these Regulations.
This Chapter also sets out the definitions of key terms used in these Regulations.
These Regulations are the *Education and Care Services National Regulations 2012*.
These Regulations are made under sections 301 and 324 of the Education and Care Services National Law.
These Regulations come into operation as follows —
(a) regulations 1 and 3 — on the day on which these Regulations are published in the Gazette;
(b) the rest of the regulations — on the day on which section 3 of the Education and Care Services National Law (WA) Act 2012 comes into operation.
(1) In these Regulations —
actively working towards a qualification — see regulation 10;
approved certificate III level education and care qualification means —
(a) a qualification for the education and care of children generally or children of a specified age that is approved by the National Authority and included in the list of approved certificate III level education and care qualifications published under regulation 137; or
(b) a qualification included in the list of approved diploma level education and care qualifications or approved early childhood teaching qualifications published under regulation 137;
approved diploma level education and care qualification means —
(a) a qualification for the education and care of children generally or children of a specified age that is approved by the National Authority and included in the list of approved diploma level education and care qualifications published under regulation 137; or
(b) a qualification included in the list of approved early childhood teaching qualifications published under regulation 137;
approved early childhood teaching qualification means a qualification for the education and care of children generally or children of a specified age that is approved by the National Authority and included in the list of approved early childhood teaching qualifications published under regulation 137;
approved number of places, in relation to a centre‑based service, means the maximum number of children who can be educated and cared for by the service at any one time, stated on the service approval under section 52(g) of the Law;
authorised emergency contact, in relation to a child, means a person named in the child’s enrolment record as a person who is to be notified of an emergency involving the child if any parent of the child cannot be immediately contacted;
bankruptcy declaration means a declaration made by an individual about any proceeding in bankruptcy brought against the individual including —
(a) whether any actions have been taken against the individual under Part IV of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 of the Commonwealth; and
(b) whether the individual has made any debt agreement under Part IX of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 of the Commonwealth; and
(c) whether the individual has made any personal insolvency agreement under Part X of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 of the Commonwealth;
building law means a law generally regulating building construction and demolition;
building permit means a permit or consent to carry out building work issued under a building law or planning and development law of a participating jurisdiction;
building practitioner means —
(a) a person who is registered as a building surveyor, building inspector or draftsperson under a law of a participating jurisdiction; or
(b) a person who is registered as an architect under a law of a participating jurisdiction; or
(c) a person who is licensed as a surveyor under a law of a participating jurisdiction; or
(d) a person who is licensed or registered as a building certifier under a law of a participating jurisdiction; or
(e) a person who is accredited under a law of a participating jurisdiction to design buildings that will be used to provide education and care services;
centre‑based service means an education and care service other than a family day care service;
certificate of final inspection means a certificate issued on completion of building work by a building practitioner under a building law or planning and development law of a participating jurisdiction;
child over preschool age means a child who —
(a) is enrolled or registered at a school; and
(b) attends, or in the current calendar year will attend, school in the year before grade 1 or in grade 1 or a higher grade;
child preschool age or under means a child under the age of 7 years who is not a child over preschool age;
criminal history record check means a full disclosure Australia‑wide criminal history record check, issued by a police force or other authority of a State or Territory or the Commonwealth;
criminal history statement means a statement made by an individual that —
(a) states whether the individual has been convicted in Australia of any offences relevant to a person seeking to work with children; and
(b) includes details of those convictions;
diagnosed as at risk of anaphylaxis, in relation to a child, means a child who has been diagnosed by a registered medical practitioner as at risk of anaphylaxis;
disciplinary proceedings statement means a statement made by an individual that states —
(a) whether the individual is or has been subject to a formal disciplinary proceeding or action under an education law of a participating jurisdiction (other than a proceeding or action that was unsuccessful or was withdrawn); and
(b) the outcome of the proceeding or action (if known);
early childhood teacher means a person with an approved early childhood teaching qualification;
educational program means a program referred to in section 168 of the Law;
emergency, in relation to an education and care service, means an incident, situation or event where there is an imminent or severe risk to the health, safety or wellbeing of a person at the education and care service;
Examples for this definition:
Flood.
Fire.
A situation that requires the education and care service premises to be locked down.
excursion means an outing organised by an education and care service or family day care educator, but does not include an outing organised by an education and care service provided on a school site if —
(a) the child or children leave the education and care service premises in the company of an educator; and
(b) the child or children do not leave the school site;
family assistance law has the same meaning as it has in the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth;
family day care educator assistant means a person engaged by or registered with a family day care service to assist family day care educators;
financial declaration means a declaration made by a person who is not an individual indicating whether the person is or has been declared insolvent or is or has been placed under external administration;
in attendance, at a centre‑based service, in relation to an early childhood teacher or a suitably qualified person — see regulation 11;
infectious disease, in relation to a participating jurisdiction, means an infectious disease that is designated under a law of that jurisdiction or by a health authority (however described) as a disease that would require a person with the disease to be excluded from an education and care service;
medication means medicine within the meaning of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 of the Commonwealth;
multi‑storey building means a building with more than 2 storeys;
occupancy permit means a certificate or permit issued under a building law or planning and development law of a participating jurisdiction that permits a building to be occupied;
optical surveillance device has the same meaning as in the Surveillance Devices Act 2004 (Commonwealth) section 6(1);
overseas criminal history statement means a statement made by an individual that —
(a) states whether the individual has been convicted outside Australia of any offences relevant to a person seeking to work with children; and
(b) includes details of those convictions;
planning and development law means a law generally regulating the planning of the use and development of land;
planning permit means a permit, approval or consent in respect of the use or development of any land granted under a building law or a planning and development law of a participating jurisdiction;
preschool program means an early childhood educational program delivered by a qualified early childhood teacher to children in the year that is 2 years before grade 1 of school;
previous service statement means a statement made by an individual that states —
(a) whether or not the individual has held any role with an education and care service or a children’s service in the previous 3 years; and
(b) includes the following details for each role —
(i) the name of the service; and
(ii) the State or Territory in which the service was located; and
(iii) the nature of the role;
registered medical practitioner means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law to practise in the medical profession (other than as a student);
regular outing, in relation to an education and care service, means a walk, drive or trip to and from a destination —
(a) that the service visits regularly as part of its educational program; and
(b) where the circumstances relevant to the risk assessment are substantially the same on each outing;
regular transportation, in relation to an education and care service, means the transportation by the service or arranged by the service (other than as part of an excursion) of a child being educated and cared for by the service, where the circumstances relevant to a risk assessment are substantially the same for each occasion on which the child is transported;
renovate, in relation to premises, means —
(a) construction, demolition, removal or relocation of a building or other fixed structure (or part of a building or other fixed structure); or
(b) carrying out structural alterations on a building or other fixed structure;
responsible person, in relation to an education and care service, means a person referred to in section 162(1)(a) to (c) of the Law;
scheme commencement day means —
(a) for all participating jurisdictions other than Western Australia — 1 January 2012; and
(b) for Western Australia — 1 August 2012;
serious incident — see regulation 12;
soil assessment means an analysis of soil conducted by an environmental consultant, environmental consulting firm, or environmental auditor for the purposes of determining —
(a) the nature, extent and levels of contamination; and
(b) the actual or potential risk to human health resulting from that contamination;
storey, of a building, includes the following —
(a) the ground level;
(b) a level of a split level;
suitably qualified person means a person who has —
(a) a qualification for the education and care of children generally or children of a specified age that is approved by the National Authority and included in the list of approved qualifications for suitably qualified persons published under regulation 137; or
(b) a qualification approved by the National Authority as a higher qualification for suitably qualified persons and included in the list of approved qualifications for suitably qualified persons published under regulation 137;
the Law means the Education and Care Services National Law;
vaping device has the same meaning as in the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Commonwealth) section 41P;
vaping substance has the same meaning as in the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Commonwealth) section 41P;
working directly with children — see regulation 13;
working with children check number has the same meaning as it has in the Child Protection (Working With Children) Act 2012 of New South Wales;
working with vulnerable people check means a check of a person under a working with vulnerable people law of a participating jurisdiction;
working with vulnerable people registration means a registration issued to a person under the Registration to Work With Vulnerable People Act 2013 of Tasmania allowing the person to be engaged in childcare services.
(1A) A requirement under these Regulations applying in relation to a stated number of children applies each time there is the stated number of children or a part of the stated number.
Example for this subregulation:
There are 33 children aged 36 months or over (not including children over preschool age) at a centre‑based service. Regulation 123(1)(c)(ii) requires 1 educator for each 10 children. In this case 4 educators would be required.
(2) Unless the context otherwise requires, a reference in these Regulations to a Part by a number is a reference to the Part, designated by that number, of these Regulations.
(3) Guides to Chapters do not form part of these Regulations.
This regulation differs from regulation 4 of the national regulations made by the Ministerial Council.
[Regulation 4 amended: Gazette 13 Dec 2013 p. 6151‑2; 28 Nov 2014 p. 4402; 26 Jun 2018 p. 2358; 28 Sep 2018 p. 3605‑6; 24 Dec 2019 p. 4422; SL 2020/143 r. 4; SL 2023/186 r. 4; SL 2025/150 r. 4.]
(1) For the purposes of paragraph (g) of the definition of education and care service in section 5(1) of the Law, the following classes of disability service are excluded from the definition of education and care service —
(a) a service that is a designated service within the meaning of the Disability Services Act 1993 of New South Wales;
(b) services that are disability services under the Disability Services Act 2006 of Queensland;
(c) a disability service provided by a disability service provider within the meaning of the Disability Act 2006 of Victoria;
(d) a service providing education and care to a child with a disability that is funded by a grant of financial assistance approved under the Disability Services Act 1993 of Western Australia;
(e) an early childhood intervention service provided for the principal purpose of providing intervention or support for children with a disability, additional needs or developmental delay.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (h) of the definition of education and care service in section 5(1) of the Law, the following classes of service are excluded from the definition of education and care service —
(a) a service providing education and care to children in premises where the majority of the children usually reside and the educator does not reside;
(b) in all participating jurisdictions other than Western Australia — a service providing education and care to children in the service provider’s residence other than as part of a service that is delivered through the use of 2 or more educators to provide education and care to children in residences;
(c) a service providing education and care to children primarily on an ad hoc or casual basis where —
(i) the service does not usually offer full‑time or all day education and care to children on an ongoing basis; and
(ii) most of the children provided with education and care are preschool age or under;
(d) a service provided by a hotel or resort to provide education and care to children who are temporary guests of the hotel or resort;
Example: A ski resort that offers child‑minding services for children staying at the resort.
(e) a service providing education and care to a child on an ad hoc basis at premises where the parent of, or other person responsible for, the child is —
(i) a guest, visitor or patron; and
(ii) readily available at all times that the child is being educated and cared for;
Examples:
Sourced from the Western Australian Legislation website (legislation.wa.gov.au). Not the authorised version.
Western Australia
Education and Care Services National Law (Western Australia)
Education and Care Services National Regulations 2012
Western Australia
Education and Care Services National Regulations 2012
Contents
Chapter 1 — Preliminary
Citation 1
Authorising provisions 1
Commencement 1
Definitions 2
Services that are not education and care services 10
Eligible association 13
Prescribed rating system 13
National Quality Standard 14
Prescribed entities 14
Meaning of actively working towards a qualification 14
Meaning of in attendance at a centre‑based service 15
Meaning of serious incident 16
Meaning of working directly with children 17
Chapter 2 — Approvals
Part 2.1 — Provider approvals
Application for provider approval by individual 18
Application for provider approval by person other than an individual 20
Matters relating to criminal history 21
Application for amendment of provider approval 21
Maximum period of suspension of provider approval 22
Application for voluntary suspension of provider approval 22
Application by individual executor for provider approval 22
Application by executor other than an individual for provider approval 24
Application by individual for provider approval on incapacity of approved provider 25
Application by person other than an individual for provider approval on incapacity of approved provider 27
Part 2.2 — Service approvals
Division 1 — Applications for service approvals
Provide enforcement tools: compliance directions, infringement offences and penalties for specific breaches, offences for false or misleading statements (Chapter 5; regs 187–191; Schedule 3).
Set fees and a method for indexation and late payment (Part 6.3; regs 232–236P; Schedule 2).
Add Western Australia‑specific adjustments and transitional arrangements to the national Regulations (Chapter 7, Part 7.9 — e.g. WA educator:child ratio for 36+ months is 1:10 (reg 123), water‑hazard inspection regime and pool restrictions for family day care (regs 373B–373G), prohibition on bassinets (reg 84D), etc.).
Who the Regulations affect
Why it matters (official aims and how that maps to incentives and costs)
Officially, these Regulations implement the National Quality Framework: to protect children’s safety and wellbeing, improve educational outcomes, and provide consistent regulation across services. The National Quality Standard (Schedule 1) is the benchmark used in assessments (reg 8; regs 57–62).
How the regulations change incentives and costs:
Implementation, discretion and trade‑offs
Bureaucratic discretion: the Regulatory Authority exercises judgment at many decision points — grant/refuse approvals (regs 27–28), approve family day care educators and venues (regs 116, 143A), grant water‑pool exceptions (reg 373C), and determine timing and form of assessments (regs 63, 65). That discretion enables case‑by‑case balancing but increases the value of clear published guidance and the potential for inconsistent application across cases.
Trade‑offs and substitution effects: stricter local rules (e.g. WA‑specific pool inspection and safety device regime, regs 373B–373G; prohibition of bassinets, reg 84D; sleep and rest regime, regs 84A–84C) raise child‑safety measures but will shift costs to family day care providers and may reduce supply of some home‑based care options in areas where compliance is costly. Providers may substitute by changing operating models (e.g. centre‑based vs family day care), reduce places, or increase fees.
Implementation risks: reliance on documented plans, annual inspections, and human reporting (incident notifications, reg 86; water hazard reports, reg 373E) creates administrative workload and risk of under‑reporting or clerical non‑compliance. The Regulations mitigate risk with fixed timeframes for notifications, record retention rules and infringement penalties (regs 174–176, 183, 190).
Who pays, who decides, what changes in behaviour
Who pays: approved providers bear most direct costs (premises compliance, insurance, staff wages, training, record‑keeping, fees). Family day care educators carry some direct costs (first aid training, public liability insurance — regs 136, 30, 153). Parents may face indirect costs if providers pass on compliance costs via fees (reg 172(2)).
Who decides: Regulatory Authority decides approvals, ratings and enforcement action; National Authority publishes approved qualifications and lists (reg 137) and sets criteria for highest ratings; approved providers decide staffing, policies and day‑to‑day compliance; individual educators or family day care educators decide whether to pursue qualifications or accept conditions attached to their residence or venue.
Behaviour changes required: providers must document and display policies (reg 168–171), conduct risk assessments for excursions, transport and sleep/rest (regs 100–101, 102B–102C, 84C), maintain specific staff qualifications and ratios (regs 123, 126, 136, 369), and keep prescribed records and notify incidents promptly (regs 158–176). Family day care services face additional venue assessment, water hazard inspection and register obligations (regs 116, 373D–373E).
Bottom line (analyst’s lens)
(References: selected provisions cited inline above — see regs 14–26, 29–33, 55–71, 73–79, 84A–84D, 97, 100–102, 103, 107–108, 117A–117C, 121–126, 130–136, 153–184, 226–236P, 369, 373B–373G, Schedule 1.)
Application for service approval — centre‑based service 28
Additional information about proposed education and care service premises 30
25A. Application for service approval for a centre‑based service — relocation of existing centre‑based service 32
Application for service approval — family day care service 32
Additional matters to have regard to in determining application for service approval 35
Additional grounds for refusal to grant service approval 36
Condition on service approval — insurance 37
Condition on service approval — family day care educator insurance 37
Condition on service approval — quality improvement plan 37
Condition on service approval — entitlement to occupy premises 38
32A. Condition on service approval — maximum number of family day care educators 38
Division 2 — Amendment of service approval and notice of change to nominated supervisor
Prescribed information for application to amend service approval 39
Notice of addition of new nominated supervisor 40
Division 3 — Transfer of service approval
Notice of transfer of service approval — centre‑based service 41
Notice of transfer of service approval — family day care service 42
Notification of decision to intervene in transfer of service approval 42
Division 4 — Suspension of service approval
Maximum period of suspension of service approval 43
Application for voluntary suspension of service approval 43
Division 5 — Service waiver
Service waiver — prescribed regulations 43
Prescribed information — application for service waiver 44
Prescribed period — revocation of service waiver 45
Division 6 — Temporary waiver
Temporary waiver — prescribed regulations 45
Application for temporary waiver 46
Chapter 3 — Assessments and ratings
Part 3.1 — Quality improvement plans
Quality improvement plans 48
Review and revision of quality improvement plans 49
Part 3.2 — Prescribed rating levels
Rating levels 49
Prescribed provisional rating 50
Significant Improvement Required 50
Working Towards National Quality Standard 50
Meeting National Quality Standard 51
Exceeding National Quality Standard 51
Part 3.3 — Assessment
Division 1 — Assessment
Assessing approved education and care services 53
Matters for determination of rating 55
Assessment and rating of new education and care services 55
Division 2 — Reassessment
Application for reassessment 55
Reassessment by Regulatory Authority 56
Part 3.4 — Review of ratings
Division 1 — Review of ratings by Regulatory Authority
Division 2 — Review of ratings by Ratings Review Panel
Application for further review by Ratings Review Panel 57
Prescribed areas of expertise or expert knowledge of Ratings Review Panel pool 57
Part 3.5 — Highest rating
70A. Prescribed rating levels for application for highest rating 58
Part 3.6 — Offences
Chapter 4 — Operational requirements
Part 4.1AA — Location of principal office
72A. Location of principal office of family day care service 61
Part 4.1 — Educational program and practice
Educational program 62
Documenting of child assessments and evidence of development of educational programs 62
Information about educational program to be kept available 63
Information about educational program to be given to parents 64
Part 4.2 — Children’s health and safety
Division 1 — Health, safety and wellbeing of children
Health, hygiene and safe food practices 64
Food and beverages 65
Service providing food and beverages 66
Weekly menu 68
Environment to be free from tobacco, vaping devices, vaping substances, drugs and alcohol 69
Staff members and family day care educators not to be affected by alcohol or drugs 70
Awareness of child protection law 71
Division 1A — Sleep and rest
84A. Sleep and rest 71
84B. Sleep and rest policies and procedures 72
84C. Risk assessment for purposes of sleep and rest policies and procedures 74
84D. Prohibition of bassinets 76
Division 2 — Incidents, injury, trauma and illness
Incident, injury, trauma and illness policies and procedures 77
Notification to parents of incident, injury, trauma and illness 77
Incident, injury, trauma and illness record 77
Infectious diseases 79
First aid kits 80
Division 3 — Medical conditions policy
Medical conditions policy 81
Medical conditions policy to be provided to parents 83
Division 4 — Administration of medication
Medication record 83
Administration of medication 84
Exception to authorisation requirement — anaphylaxis or asthma emergency 86
Procedure for administration of medication 86
Self‑administration of medication 87
Division 5 — Emergencies and communication
Emergency and evacuation procedures 88
Telephone or other communication equipment 90
Division 6 — Collection of children from premises and excursions
Children leaving the education and care service premises 91
Risk assessment must be conducted before excursion 91
Conduct of risk assessment for excursion 92
Authorisation for excursions 93
Division 6A — Safe arrival of children
102AA. Definition 95
102AAB. Safe arrival of children policies and procedures 95
102AAC. Risk assessment for the purposes of safe arrival of children policies and procedures 96
Division 7 — Transportation of children other than as part of excursion
102A. Application of Division 98
102B. Transport risk assessment must be conducted before service transports child 99
102C. Conduct of risk assessment for transporting of children by education and care service 100
102D. Authorisation for service to transport children 101
102E. Children embarking a means of transport — centre‑based service 102
102F. Children disembarking a means of transport — centre‑based service 104
Part 4.3 — Physical environment
Division 1 — Centre‑based services and family day care services
Premises, furniture and equipment to be safe, clean and in good repair 105
Fencing 106
Furniture, materials and equipment 106
Laundry and hygiene facilities 107
Space requirements — indoor space 107
Space requirements — outdoor space 108
Toilet and hygiene facilities 110
Ventilation and natural light 110
Division 2 — Additional requirements for centre‑based services
Administrative space 110
Nappy change facilities 111
Outdoor space — natural environment 112
Outdoor space — shade 112
Premises designed to facilitate supervision 112
Division 3 — Additional provisions for family day care services
116A. Inspection of swimming pools, water features and other potential water hazards at family day care residences and approved family day care venues 115
116B. Inspection report 115
116C. Compliance with fencing requirements for swimming pools at family day care residences and approved family day care venues 115
Part 4.3A — Minimum requirements for persons in day‑to‑day charge and nominated supervisors
117A. Placing a person in day‑to‑day charge 116
117B. Minimum requirements for a person in day‑to‑day charge 117
117C. Minimum requirements for a nominated supervisor 118
Part 4.4 — Staffing arrangements
Division 1 — Educational leader
Division 2 — Age and supervision requirements
Family day care educator and family day care educator assistant to be at least 18 years old 119
Educators who are under 18 to be supervised 120
Division 3 — Minimum number of educators and family day care co‑ordinators required
Application of Division 3 120
Educators must be working directly with children to be included in ratios 121
Educator to child ratios — centre‑based services 121
123A. Family day care co‑ordinator to educator ratios — family day care service 124
Division 4 — Educational qualifications for educators
Application of Division 4 127
Centre‑based services — general educator qualifications 127
126A. Illness or absence of qualified educator who is required to meet relevant educator to child ratio 128
Family day care educator qualifications 129
Family day care co‑ordinator qualifications 130
Division 5 — Requirements for educators who are early childhood teachers
Application of Division 5 130
Requirement for early childhood teacher — centre‑based services — fewer than 25 approved places 130
Requirement for early childhood teacher — centre‑based services — 25 or more approved places but fewer than 25 children 131
Requirement for early childhood teacher — centre‑based services — 25 to 59 children 131
Requirement for early childhood teacher — centre‑based services — 60 to 80 children 132
Requirement for early childhood teacher — centre‑based services — more than 80 children 133
Illness or absence of early childhood teacher or suitably qualified person 134
Division 6 — First aid qualifications
Division 7 — Approval and determination of qualifications
Approval of qualifications 139
Application for qualification to be assessed for inclusion on the list of approved qualifications 141
Application for determination of equivalent qualification 141
Application for determination of an equivalent qualification 142
Additional information for application for determination of equivalent qualification 144
Translations of documents 145
Certification of documents 146
Division 7A — Minimum requirements for a family day care educator
143A. Minimum requirements for a family day care educator 146
143B. Ongoing management of family day care educators 147
Division 8 — Family day care educator assistant
Division 9 — Staff and educator records — centre‑based services
Staff record 150
Nominated supervisor 150
Staff members 151
Educational leader 152
Volunteers and students 152
Responsible person 153
Record of educators working directly with children 153
Record of access to early childhood teachers 154
152A. Record of replacement of educator 154
152B. Record of replacement of early childhood teacher or suitably qualified person 155
Division 10 — Register of family day care educators, co‑ordinators and assistants and records of family day care service
Register of family day care educators, co-ordinators and educator assistants 156
Record of staff engaged or employed by family day care service 163
Part 4.5 — Relationships with children
Interactions with children 164
Relationships in groups 164
Part 4.6 — Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
Part 4.7 — Governance and leadership
Division 1 — Management of services
Children’s attendance record to be kept by approved provider 166
Children’s attendance record to be kept by family day care educator 167
Child enrolment records to be kept by approved provider and family day care educator 167
Authorisations to be kept in enrolment record 169
Health information to be kept in enrolment record 170
Residents at family day care residence and family day care educator assistants to be fit and proper persons 172
Requirement for notice in relation to persons at residence 173
Record of visitors 175
Children not to be alone with visitors 175
Record of service’s compliance 176
Division 2 — Policies and procedures
Education and care service must have policies and procedures 177
Additional policies and procedures — family day care service 180
Policies and procedures to be followed 181
Policies and procedures to be kept available 182
Notification of change to policies or procedures 183
Division 3 — Information and record‑keeping requirements
Prescribed information to be displayed 183
Time to notify certain circumstances to Regulatory Authority 186
174A. Prescribed information to accompany notice 186
Prescribed information to be notified to Regulatory Authority 187
Time to notify certain information to Regulatory Authority 189
176A. Prescribed information to be notified to approved provider by family day care educator 190
Prescribed enrolment and other documents to be kept by approved provider 190
Prescribed enrolment and other documents to be kept by family day care educator 194
Family day care educator to provide documents on leaving service 196
Evidence of prescribed insurance 196
Confidentiality of records kept by approved provider 197
Confidentiality of records kept by family day care educator 197
Storage of records and other documents 198
Storage of records after service approval transferred 199
Law and regulations to be available 199
Chapter 5 — Review, enforcement and compliance
Part 5.1 — Internal review
Part 5.2 — Enforcement and compliance
Prescribed form of identity card 202
Compliance directions 202
Application to cancel prohibition notice 203
Infringement offences 203
False or misleading information or documents 205
Chapter 6 — Administration
Part 6.1 — Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority
Co‑operation with prescribed classes of body 206
Allocating, transferring or reimbursing money to a participating jurisdiction 207
Investment of Authority Fund 207
Part 6.2 — Information, records and privacy — National Authority and Regulatory Authorities
Division 1 — Application of Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988
Application of Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 208
Modifications relating to National Education and Care Services Privacy Commissioner and staff 20
This is an opening excerpt, not the complete document.