Education and Care Services National Regulations
124Number of children who can be educated and cared for—family day care educator
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124 Number of children who can be educated and cared for—family day care educator
124 Number of children who can be educated and cared for—family day care educator
(1) A family day care educator must not educate and care for more than 7 children at a family day care residence or approved family day care venue at any one time.
(2) In determining the number of children who can be educated and cared for by a family day care educator for the purposes of subregulation (1)—
(a) no more than 4 can be preschool age or under; and
(b) if the children are being educated and cared for at a residence, the educator’s own children and any other children at the residence are to be taken into account if—
(i) those children are under 13 years of age; and
(ii) there is no other adult present and caring for the children.
(3) No more than 7 children can be educated and cared for as part of a family day care service at a family day care residence or an approved family day care venue at any one time.
(4) Subregulation (3) does not apply to children visiting a family day care residence or an approved family day care venue as part of an excursion.
Note.
A visiting family day care educator must do a risk assessment for the excursion under regulation 100.
(5) Despite subregulations (1) to (4), the approved provider of a family day care service may approve, in writing, a family day care educator to educate and care for more than 7 children, or more than 4 children who are preschool age or under, at any one time, in exceptional circumstances.
(6) For the purposes of subregulation (5), exceptional circumstances exist if—
(a) all the children being educated and cared for by the family day care educator are siblings in the same family; or
(b) a child to be educated and cared for is determined to be in need of protection under a child protection law and the family day care educator is determined to be the best person to educate and care for the child; or
(c) the family day care residence or approved family day care venue is in a rural or remote area and no alternative education and care service is available.