IHC rule change provides exemptions for remote/very remote educators 

New qualification exemptions for In Home Care (IHC) educators working in remote and very remote areas are now in effect. 

Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Youth Dr Anne Aly has approved an exemption to minimum qualification requirements for eligible IHC educators working in remote and very remote areas in recognition of the difficulty in attracting and retaining IHC educators in these areas.

The exemption replaces the transitional arrangements which ended on 31 December 2024 and came into effect on 1 January 2025. The exemption is a permanent part of the IHC Program and does not have an end date. 

Providers who engage IHC educators working in remote and very remote areas can access an exemption to the minimum qualification requirements of being certificate III in ECEC qualified, if they meet certain criteria. 

The educator must work in a remote and very remote area according to the Accessibility and Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA+) measure on the Australian Bureau of Statistics website.

Approved Providers must seek approval from the Education Department in writing prior to engaging an IHC educator under the exemption. Providers may engage IHC educators who don’t meet minimum qualification requirements to work in remote or very remote areas if:

• the unqualified educator has access to and utilises the experience of a qualified educator at least 20 per cent of the time care is provided, or

• the unqualified educator has been continuously employed in an ECEC service in a remote or very remote area for at least 15 years. Providers will mentor and support unqualified educators to ensure they complete these requirements of the exemption:

• Complete the IHC service’s full induction program, including risk and hazard identification and management, educational programming and anything else relevant to the family’s circumstance

• Complete the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority’s ACECQA’s IHC quality and safety project and e-learning modules.

The IHC National Guidelines are currently being updated and the application process is explained on the Department of Education IHC website.