Landmark Child Safety Reform Bill passes first stage of approval with minimum amendments in Vic parliament

The Early Childhood Legislation Amendment (Child Safety) Bill 2025, a comprehensive reform of child safety law in the early childhood education and care sector, has successfully moved through the first stage of Parliamentary review in Victoria with just one proposed amendment.

The Bill features an extensive list of reform items that include tightening of reporting procedures, greater transparency with regards exposing prohibited individuals and substantial increases in penalties and will see the application of the National Law amended.

The New South Wales Parliament passed the new laws on 30 October with swift action taken by the Government to implement changes following thereafter. 

Specifically, the Bill amendments include:

• making the safety, rights and best interests of children the paramount consideration in the operation of an education and care service  
• ensuring the safe use of digital devices
• mandating national child safety and child protection training
• establishing ‘inappropriate conduct’ as an offence
• enabling regulators to share the identity of prohibited individuals with their approved provider
• broadening the range of regulatory responses available for addressing misconduct
• removing the ability to apply for ongoing service waivers related to regulation 115 – premises designed to facilitate supervision
• allowing effective identification, monitoring and regulation of ‘related providers’
• making it an offence for anyone subject to a prohibition notice to give a recruitment agency false or misleading information about that notice
• expanding the powers of regulators to information-share with recruitment agencies
• establishment of a mandatory national early childhood educator register
• extending the limitation period for offences to enable prosecution to be undertaken, including a ‘stop the clock’ provision for prosecuting offences
• a three-fold increase to all maximum penalties under the National Quality Framework
• expanding the use of Penalty Infringement Notices, and
• strengthening requirements around working with children checks

Additional measures for family day care (FDC) include:

• requiring assessments of FDC residences to include nearby areas accessible to children, and
• enabling authorised officers to access the FDC service premises and areas beyond residence for monitoring and compliance or investigation of offences or alleged offences.

It is expected that the Bill will move through its second reading today and with all debate completed by 5.00 pm on Friday 14 November 2025 and that the implementation of the rules will commence nationally in early 2026.

To read the information memorandum and the Bill itself please click here.