Advanced child safety training to be released

Article

Fiona Alston

Jul 17, 2026

Save

Australia's early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector will enter the next stage of national child safety reform when advanced child safety training will become available from July 2026, expanding on the mandatory foundation modules introduced earlier this year.

The new training forms part of the nationally consistent child safety framework agreed by Education Ministers in 2025 and is designed to strengthen safeguarding capability across leadership and frontline roles within early childhood services.

Under the national requirements, advanced training will be mandatory for:

persons with management or control of a service
nominated supervisors
persons in day-to-day charge
staff members who work directly with children.

The additional training recognises the heightened responsibilities these roles hold in creating and maintaining child-safe environments and responding appropriately to child safety concerns.

The Australian Government has established staged implementation timeframes to allow services to plan staff participation.

Existing staff required to complete the advanced training will have six months from its release date to complete the modules.

Staff employed after the training becomes available will be required to complete the advanced training within three months of commencing employment.

The advanced training represents the next milestone in the national child safety reforms being implemented across Australia's ECEC sector.

The Department of Education has advised they will provide information ahead of its release.

Learn more about national child safety training here.

Don’t miss a thing

First QUT Birth to Five graduates move from diploma to teaching

Five early childhood educators have become the first graduates of Queensland University of Technology’s Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Birth to Five), highlighting a pathway for experienced educators to become qualified teachers.

Smart Start: New guide helps childcare centres nourish young minds

More than 900,000 Australian children spend a significant portion of their early years in early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, making these settings a powerful influence on children's health and wellbeing.

Before they can teach play, they need to play

We ask pre-service teachers to create rich learning environments for children and to understand curiosity, experimentation, imagination and discovery. Yet how often do we give them opportunities to experience these things for themselves? Before they can teach play, pre-service teachers need to play.

MacKillop Seasons leader recognised with prestigious AWE award

Godelieve Verkuyl, Manager of the Disaster Resilience team at MacKillop Seasons, has been recognised with an AWE (Australasian Women in Emergencies Network) Award in acknowledgement of her outstanding contribution to emergency management and disaster resilience.

Updated child safety guidance released for Victorian early childhood services

Victorian early childhood education and care services now have access to updated child safety guidance and resources designed to support them in identifying, reporting and responding to child abuse risks, concerns, allegations and complaints.