ACECQA issues reminder about new transportation rules from 1 March 2023

Centre-based early childhood education and care (ECEC) services will be subject to new rules around the transportation of children from 1 March 2023, with the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) issuing advice ahead of the changes. 

Effective 1 March 2023, the following new regulatory requirements will apply to centre based services that provide regular transportation:  

• Approved providers and nominated supervisors must ensure a staff member or nominated supervisor (other than the driver) accounts for children as they get in or out of a vehicle at an education and care service. 
• Approved providers and nominated supervisors must ensure records are made showing children are accounted for as they get in or out of a vehicle at the education and care service.  
• Approved providers and nominated supervisors must ensure records are made confirming a check of the inside of a vehicle was completed at the service after all children have left to ensure no children remain.  
• Approved providers must notify the regulatory authority when they start providing or arranging regular transport, and again when they finish. This can be done through the NQA ITS. 

Changes to the National Regulations have now been made to reflect the new requirements, and ACECQA has published new guidance information and resources on its website: 

• Information sheet – Changes to regular transportation of children 
• Information sheet – Minimising the risk of children left in vehicles  
• Information sheet – Guidance for adequate supervision during transportation 
• Safe Transportation of Children Safety Checklist and regular transportation record form 

ACECQA will also be publishing amendments to the national policy and procedure guidelines and updates to the Guide to the National Quality Framework in line with the changes.  

Relevant information will be distributed through ACECQA’s newsletters, website and through eDMs to regulatory authorities, providers and their services over the next few months. 

ACECQA will also update the Summary of the 2019 NQF Review outcomes table on the 2019 NQF Review website regularly to share implementation progress.