New national child safety reforms to take effect across ECEC from September 2025

From 1 September 2025, sweeping national reforms will strengthen child safety in early childhood education and care (ECEC) services across Australia, with faster incident reporting, updated digital policies and clearer regulatory expectations.

 

The early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector is set to enter a new phase of national reform, following the unanimous endorsement of a child safety reform package by all Australian education ministers.

 

These changes reflect the findings of Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) review of Child Safety Arrangements under the National Quality Framework and the sector-wide commitment to embedding the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations into the governance, practice and culture of early learning environments.

 

What’s changing from 1 September 2025?

 

Key regulatory updates include:

 

Faster reporting of serious incidents

 

Services must notify regulatory authorities within 24 hours of becoming aware of any allegation, complaint or incident involving physical or sexual abuse. This is a significant reduction from the current seven-day reporting timeframe.

 

Ban on vaping

 

In addition to existing bans on tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs, services will now be required to ensure their environments are free from vaping substances and devices.

 

New digital safety requirements under Regulation 168

 

Services must implement policies and procedures for the safe use of digital technologies, including:

 

• Guidelines for the taking, use, storage and destruction of images and videos of children
• Requirements for parental authorisation for image and video capture
• Rules on the use of optical surveillance devices (e.g. CCTV)
• Clear policies on service-issued digital devices and children’s device use

 

These changes build on the National Code and Guidelines introduced in July 2024, which recommended banning personal devices for image capture and enhancing accountability in digital safety practices.

 

From 1 January 2026: NQS revisions

 

From 1 January 2026, the National Quality Standard (NQS) will be updated to formally integrate child safety requirements, particularly under:

 

• Quality Area 2: Children’s health and safety
• Quality Area 7: Governance and leadership

 

New wording (in bold) has been introduced to reflect a stronger focus on child safety:

 

Refinements to Quality Area 2: Children’s health and safety

 

Element 2.2.3 will become Child Safety and Protection:

 

Management, educators and staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities regarding child safety, including the need to identify and respond to every child at risk of abuse or neglect.

 

Refinements to Quality Area 7: Governance and leadership

 

Quality Area 7 will become:

 

Effective leadership contributes to sustained quality relationships and environments that facilitate children’s learning and development. Well documented policies and practices that are developed and regularly evaluated in partnership with educators, coordinators, staff members and families contribute to the ethical management of a quality service that is child safe. There is a focus on continuous improvement.

 

Standard 7.1 Governance will become:

 

Governance supports the operation of a quality service that is child safe.

 

Element 7.1.2 Management systems will become:

 

Systems are in place to manage risk and enable the effective management and operation of a quality service that is child safe.

 

These updates will formalise sector expectations and reinforce the critical role of leadership, governance and systems in safeguarding children.

 

All educators, leaders and staff will be required to demonstrate an understanding of their responsibilities in identifying, preventing and responding to abuse or neglect.

 

Sector guidance and support

 

To support services through the transition, ACECQA has released information sheet outlining the changes that align with the Education and Care Services National Regulations and the National Quality Standard (NQS)

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These include:

• Reviewing and updating governance frameworks
• Establishing child-friendly complaints procedures
• Providing regular training for all staff
• Actively involving children and families in decision-making and feedback processes

 

The guidance encourages reflection and continuous improvement ahead of the regulatory changes.

 

ACECQA will progressively release additional guidance and support, including new policy and procedure guidelines on the safe use of digital technologies and online environments. 

 

These resources are designed to help approved providers and their services meet the updated regulatory requirements.

 

Two new guides are currently being finalised to support preparation:

 

• NQF Child Safe Culture Guide embedding child safe cultures in education and care services
• NQF Online Safety Guide embedding child safe online environments in education and care services

 

A united national approach

 

Federal Minister for Education Jason Clare said the reforms underscore a collective responsibility to protect children in early learning settings.

 

“These changes are about making sure the right rules are in place to keep our children safe while they are in early education and care,” Mr Clare said.

 

Minister for Early Childhood Education Dr Jess Walsh added: “These changes will help to ensure that we continue to provide assurance to families and children that early education settings are safe, positive and enriching.”

 

State and territory ministers echoed this support, highlighting the reforms’ alignment with local initiatives and their potential to strengthen national consistency.

 

These reforms form part of the Albanese Government’s broader integrity framework, which includes stronger compliance powers, tighter Child Care Subsidy (CCS) regulations, and the exclusion of providers with repeated breaches. Measures also aim to:

 

• Prevent providers who persistently fail to meet minimum standards and repeatedly breach the National Law from opening new CCS-approved services
• Take compliance action against existing providers with egregious or ongoing breaches—including the option to suspend or revoke CCS funding
• Strengthen powers to identify and manage providers that pose an integrity risk

 

With unified national support, the message is clear: safeguarding children is not just a regulatory requirement, it is foundational to the values and responsibilities of the ECEC providers and profession.

 

Education Ministers will meet next week to consider additional actions to strengthen child safety in education and care services.

 

Read the full media release here.