NSW passes nation-leading reforms to strengthen child safety and restore trust in ECEC

The most significant overhaul of early childhood legislation in 15 years has passed the NSW Parliament, with new laws placing children’s safety and wellbeing at the centre of early education and care.

On 23 October 2025, the NSW Government passed landmark legislation under the Children (Education and Care Services National Law Application) Act 2010, delivering more than 30 reforms designed to strengthen regulatory oversight, improve transparency for families, and crack down on poor-quality providers.

The changes follow an independent review of the state’s regulatory system, commissioned by Deputy Premier Prue Car, which found that the existing framework limited the Regulator’s ability to act swiftly and transparently in the interests of children.

Key reforms include:

• A legal obligation for services and the Regulator to prioritise the rights and best interests of children in every decision
• Mandatory child protection training and child-safe recruitment practices
• A mobile phone ban in early learning environments, with significant penalties for breaches
• Introduction of short-form compliance histories to be displayed in services and on their websites
• Parent notification requirements when serious incidents are under investigation
• New powers for the Regulator to publish information about high-risk services and current investigations
• Authority to suspend or revoke NQS quality ratings during or following investigations
• Increased penalties up to a 900 per cent increase for large providers (25+ services)
• Strengthened whistleblower protections
• Powers to issue supervision orders or suspend individual educators
• New offence provisions for inappropriate conduct towards children
• Extended timeframes to prosecute offences, aligning with national reforms

The reforms also bring forward and extend nationally agreed changes, ensuring that NSW leads the country in embedding child-first decision-making within its early childhood education and care (ECEC) system.

NSW Acting Minister for Education and Early Learning Courtney Houssos described the changes as long overdue and essential to rebuilding community trust.

“This Government said we’d strengthen the laws, increase fines for poor-quality operators, and improve transparency to rebuild trust in the early childhood sector,” Ms Houssos said.

“Families deserve to know their children are safe, respected, and nurtured when they attend childcare, preschool or outside school care. This legislation ensures the safety and wellbeing of children comes first.”

The passage of this legislation marks a pivotal shift in how early learning services in NSW are governed and monitored. By placing children’s rights and wellbeing above all else, the reforms seek to restore public confidence while raising expectations for quality and accountability across the sector.

NSW will continue to advocate for national consistency in child safety standards, with the goal of ensuring that all Australian children receive the same level of protection now enshrined in NSW law.

Full Ministerial media release can be accessed here.