Have your say: Nationwide CCTV assessment in early childhood education and care 

Governments across Australia are working together to strengthen child safety and wellbeing in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. As part of this commitment, Education Ministers have agreed to conduct a national assessment of closed-circuit television (CCTV) use in up to 300 ECEC services across the country.

The national CCTV assessment aims to better understand how CCTV is currently being used in services, the rationale behind its use, and how it may support child safety, supervision, compliance, and accountability into the future. The assessment is part of broader efforts to ensure systems and safeguards keep pace with contemporary risks and expectations in the early childhood sector.

The views of service providers, educators and leaders are central to the success of the national assessment. Understanding how CCTV is used across a diverse range of settings, including long day care, family day care, outside school hours care and preschools, will provide valuable insights into:

• How CCTV contributes to child safety and incident response.
• The benefits and limitations of current CCTV practices.
• Privacy considerations, community expectations, and workforce perceptions.
• Opportunities to improve or clarify national guidance, policy and regulation.

Your practical experience and insights will help shape future decisions about how CCTV is implemented, governed and supported in early childhood settings.

To support the design of the assessment, the department is inviting one response per ECEC site through a short national survey. The survey is designed to take no more than two minutes to complete and asks questions about:

• Whether CCTV is currently in use at your service.
• How it is used (e.g. for supervision, entry/exits, sleep rooms, outdoor areas).
• Any perceived benefits, challenges or considerations.
• Your views on whether CCTV should play a greater role in the sector.

The survey is open now and will close on Friday 12 December 2025. Responses received by this date will help ensure the assessment is informed by real-world experience and sector-wide perspectives.