NSW Government introduces landmark early childhood reforms to put child safety first

The NSW Government has introduced landmark legislation to the NSW Parliament, marking the most significant reform to early childhood education and care (ECEC) regulation in 15 years.

Designed to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children, the reforms respond to an independent review commissioned by Deputy Premier Prue Car earlier this year. The review found that the existing regulatory framework, governed by the National Law, was significantly constrained in its ability to safeguard children and uphold sector accountability.

The bill proposes more than 30 amendments to the Children (Education and Care Services National Law Application) Act 2010. These include:

• A legal obligation for both services and the regulator to place the rights and best interests of children at the centre of all decisions.
• The power for the regulator to publish information about high-risk services, including those currently under investigation.
• The ability to suspend or revoke quality ratings during or after an investigation.
• Increased protections for whistleblowers and expanded authority to suspend or supervise individual educators.
• A tripling of penalties across the board, including a 900 per cent increase in the maximum penalty for large providers operating 25 or more services.
• A doubling of the number of offences eligible for penalty infringement notices, from 15 to 30.

New powers will enable the regulator and Minister to issue binding directions to services where an unacceptable risk to child safety is identified. These could include banning mobile phones, mandating service closures during natural disasters, enforcing child safety training, or requiring compliance with a future national teacher register.

The legislation also strengthens child-safe recruitment requirements, closes loopholes related to past offences, and removes the ability to appeal regulator decisions in cases deemed high risk to children.

Additionally, the bill brings forward timelines for several nationally-agreed reforms and introduces NSW-specific measures such as:

• Making inappropriate conduct towards children a prosecutable offence.
• Requiring providers to display their compliance history, including active investigations.
• Extending the timeframe for offences to be prosecuted, aligning with national approaches that factor in investigative delays.

These measures build on previously announced reforms, including the establishment of an independent regulatory authority, a $55 million investment in frontline staff, and expanded publication of regulatory data.

Acting Minister for Education and Early Learning Courtney Houssos described the bill as “nation-leading,” stating:

“This bill provides new offences and penalties… at least three times the current paltry amounts. For large providers, those fines can be trebled again.”

Ms Houssos said the bill would deliver greater transparency, restore public trust, and ensure that the safety of children is placed above all else in early learning environments.

“The message from the Minns Labor Government is simple: children, not profit, must come first.”

The legislation complements upcoming reforms to the Working With Children Check, reinforcing that only those with valid clearances can work in the ECEC sector, and that decisions regarding risk now rest with the regulator.

With bipartisan support likely, the NSW Government’s reforms are expected to reset regulatory expectations across the sector, with a focus on prevention, transparency and accountability.

For further details, visit the NSW Department of Education announcement.