End of year advice for ECEC services – operational and legal requirements

In the lead up to a new operational year, many services are preparing to welcome new and returning children, gathering the resources they need for a successful transition. 

The Queensland Department of Education, in its capacity as the State’s Regulatory Authority, has released some advice about operational and legal requirements for Approved Providers to be aware of. 

Although the advice is written and contextualised for the Queensland context, much of the advice will be applicable across the country. 

An extract of this advice appears below. To access the original version of the advice please see here. 

Excursions and regular outings

Excursions, including regular outings, allow children to explore the wider community, and support learning and development. Approved providers must consider the additional risks to children’s safety, health and wellbeing. Read guidelines for developing policies and procedures for excursions for more advice and support.

Managing medical conditions

For those services who are enrolling, or re enrolling a child with a health issue, allergy or medical condition, ensuring that the medical conditions policy is up to date is a critical task. 

First aid qualifications and training

Linking to the medical conditions task, there are mandatory requirements for first aid qualifications, anaphylaxis management training and emergency asthma management training to be aware of. 

Committee changes

For those services who have a governing body or committee it is important to identify the person/s with management or control, and ensure that, should they leave or be replaced, the approved provider notifies the relevant regulatory authority. 

Fee policy

Services must notify families of changes in fees within 14 days of the change, and update any policies on setting or collecting fees. 

Regulatory priorities 

A new year is a great time to reflect on service practices. The Queensland Department focuses on four regulatory priorities every two years, and many other states and territories will also share information about their compliance priorities also. 

Safety awareness

Product Safety Australia alerts can help services to remain current with safety aspects to monitor, such as art and craft materials, toys and resources, button batteries, furniture and more. 

Details up to date with NQA ITS? 

Occasionally the relevant Regulatory Authority will need to contact a service, and as such, it is essential that information such email, phone number and responsible person are correct on the National Quality Agenda IT System (NQA ITS) 

Find the information in its original format here.