NSW signals tougher child safety oversight: what a funding boost to the Office of the Children’s Guardian could mean for ECEC services

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services across New South Wales should expect increased compliance activity after the NSW Government announced additional funding to strengthen the Office of the Children’s Guardian (OCG), the state’s independent child safety regulator.

 

The NSW Department of Communities and Justice said the OCG will receive $5.5 million over two years to employ additional staff, with the explicit aim of increasing the regulator’s compliance, review and enforcement work, including more compliance audits for early education centres. 

 

The extra resourcing is intended to deliver: 

 

• more compliance audits for early education centres
• more reportable conduct investigations
• more timely risk assessments for Working With Children Check (WWCC) applications
• more enforcement actions under the Child Safe Scheme

 

The release also links the funding boost to earlier investment in the OCG through the NSW Government’s $1.2 billion Child Protection Package, including an additional $10 million invested in the OCG’s capacity in the state budget referenced in the release. 

 

Why this matters for ECEC: audits are likely to focus on systems, not intentions

 

NSW ECEC services already sit within multiple child safety frameworks. Two are especially relevant here:

 

1) NSW Child Safe Scheme (Child Safe Standards)

 

NSW Department of Education guidance is clear that ECEC services in NSW are required to implement the Child Safe Standards under the NSW Child Safe Scheme. The OCG administers the scheme and explains that certain child-related organisations must put the Child Safe Standards into action. 

 

2) Reportable Conduct Scheme

 

The OCG also administers the Reportable Conduct Scheme, which monitors how organisations respond to allegations of certain conduct towards children. NSW Department of Education guidance states that ECE and OSHC services are required to have systems in place for preventing, detecting and dealing with reportable conduct and reportable convictions. 

 

With more resourcing directed to audits and investigations, services may see greater scrutiny of evidence: how child safe standards are embedded in everyday practice, how concerns are escalated, how documentation supports decision-making, and how governance ensures consistency across rooms, educators, and casual staffing.

 

WWCC changes are part of the same enforcement agenda

 

The investments also highlights recent legislative changes that removed the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) external review pathway for people denied a WWCC, stating that WWCC decisions are now made by the OCG. 

 

This change is reflected in:

 

• an NCAT announcement confirming it no longer has jurisdiction to review WWCC decisions, with reviews now directed to the OCG 
• OCG guidance explaining that external review has been replaced with internal review processes under the 2025 amendment legislation. 

 

For services, the operational message is simple: WWCC compliance and monitoring remains non-negotiable, and the OCG is signalling capacity to move faster on risk assessment and enforcement. 

 

With increased audits and investigations flagged, services can reduce risk by tightening the fundamentals.

 

1) Treat child safety as a living system, not a folder of policies

Audit readiness increasingly depends on whether policies translate into observable routines: supervision practices, professional boundaries, safe physical and online environments, and consistent responses to concerns.

 

2) Re-check Child Safe Standards implementation

 

Use the NSW Child Safe Standards as a practical checklist: staff capability, child participation, family engagement, risk management, complaints handling, and continuous improvement. 

 

3) Pressure-test reportable conduct procedures

 

Confirm that the service can identify, record, escalate and report concerns within required timeframes, and that educators understand what is reportable and what is handled under other mechanisms. 

 

4) Strengthen WWCC governance

 

Ensure recruitment, induction and ongoing monitoring processes verify clearance status and manage changes promptly, with clear role accountability. 

 

5) Link practice to national child safety reform directions

 

National reforms continue to sharpen child safety expectations in education and care, including changes rolling out from late 2025 and early 2026. Aligning local practice with these directions supports consistency across regulatory touchpoints.

 

The NSW Government’s announcement is not just a funding update. It is an enforcement signal: more audits, more investigations, faster screening decisions, and more action under the Child Safe Scheme are expected outcomes of the resourcing boost. 

 

For ECEC leaders, the most practical response is to assume that documentation, training, supervision and reporting pathways may be reviewed more often, and to ensure the service can demonstrate, not just describe, a child safe culture.

 

Reference

 

NSW Department of Communities and Justice, Child safety strengthened with funding boost to Office of the Children’s Guardian.