Reforms now in force across NSW early learning sector

From 6 November 2025, new reforms in New South Wales have come into force, introducing mandatory transparency measures and banning the use of personal mobile devices in early learning settings steps designed to strengthen child safety, support informed decision-making by families, and ensure consistent regulatory oversight.

Under amendments to the Children (Education and Care Services National Law Application) Act 2010, all early learning services in NSW must now prominently display a short-form compliance and quality history.

This must include:

• The service’s current and previous quality ratings under the Education and Care Services National Regulations and the National Quality Framework (NQF)
• Any serious breaches recorded in the past two years
• Prosecutions resulting in a plea of guilt, finding of guilt or conviction
• Additional ‘prescribed information’ such as approval details, regulator contact information, and key operational data

Failure to meet these obligations carries significant penalties: fines of $5,160 for individual services and $15,480 for large providers, with courts able to impose up to $51,600 and $154,800 respectively in more serious cases.

Stronger regulatory powers and penalties

The reforms also expand the enforcement powers of the NSW Department of Education. Key changes include:

• New offences for inappropriate conduct towards children by educators or providers
• Powers to suspend or revoke a service’s quality rating
• Introduction of supervision orders for individual educators
• Extended timeframes for prosecution
• Ministerial authority to mandate CCTV installation, require child protection training, or direct the closure of services posing unacceptable safety risks

Personal device ban now active

A core element of the reforms is the prohibition of personal mobile and electronic devices for capturing or storing images of children.

Under the new law:

• Educators in long day care, preschool and out-of-school-hours services are prohibited from using personal devices—including phones, tablets, smart watches and wearable cameras—for photography or video recording
• Family day care educators must use service-issued or authorised devices and must obtain parent consent before capturing images
• Fines apply for breaches: $3,420 for individuals, $17,200 for services, and up to $51,600 for large providers (operating 25 or more services). Previously, only services could be fined, and at a lower maximum of $1,100

What early childhood services need to do now

With these changes now in effect, approved providers, centre managers and educators in NSW should act quickly to review and align their operations with the new requirements.

Key actions include:

• Display and communication: Update signage and public-facing materials to reflect compliance and quality histories
• Device management: Revise policies and practices to restrict photography to authorised devices and ensure staff training is in place
• Regulatory risk management: Review procedures against the new enforcement landscape, including powers related to supervision, rating suspension and service closure
• Parent engagement: Use the reforms as an opportunity to build trust with families through open communication about compliance and quality
• Budgeting for compliance: Allocate resources for staff training, compliant device procurement, signage updates, and possible infrastructure changes such as CCTV
• Sector-wide alignment: With over 6,000 services affected across NSW, services should anticipate increased regulatory scrutiny and prioritise compliance benchmarking

Setting a national precedent

These measures may influence reform efforts beyond NSW. With transparency, device management and child safety under national focus, it is timely for services across Australia to revisit their compliance frameworks and ensure readiness for rising expectations.

By proactively implementing these changes, early learning services can not only meet regulatory obligations, but also strengthen their reputation for transparency, quality and child protection.

Access the Ministerial media release here