EOFY review: A landmark year for child safety reform in Australia's ECEC sector

The end of the financial year is traditionally a time for reflection across Australia's early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector. It provides an opportunity for providers, educators and policy makers to review the year that was, assess progress and prepare for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

As FY2025–26 comes to a close, one theme stands above all others: child safety.

The Australian Government's release of A year of action to strengthen child safety in early childhood education and care  provides a timely summary of what has been one of the most significant periods of reform since the National Quality Framework (NQF) commenced in 2012.

Over the past 12 months, governments have introduced wide-ranging legislative changes, strengthened regulatory oversight, launched new national systems and invested heavily in workforce capability. Collectively, these reforms signal a long-term shift towards embedding child safety into every aspect of Australia's early childhood education and care system.

Perhaps the most significant development has been the introduction of two major pieces of legislation that fundamentally reshape regulatory expectations for approved providers.

The Strengthening Regulation of Early Education Act 2025 places quality and child safety at the centre of Child Care Subsidy (CCS) approval arrangements, providing stronger mechanisms for suspending or cancelling CCS approval where serious non-compliance occurs.

Alongside this, the Child Safety Legislation Amendment Act 2025 introduces expanded regulatory powers, significantly higher penalties and stronger enforcement options designed to improve accountability across the sector.

For providers, these reforms reinforce that child safety is no longer viewed solely as a quality consideration, it is now a core governance and compliance responsibility.

The past year has also seen significant investment in national systems designed to improve workforce visibility and strengthen safeguards for children.

The National Early Childhood Worker Register is now operational, with the vast majority of approved services having entered workforce information. The register provides regulators with greater visibility of the workforce, supports more effective responses to child safety concerns and establishes a stronger foundation for future workforce planning.

At the same time, governments have strengthened Working with Children Check (WWCC) arrangements through enhanced information sharing, new reporting obligations and the development of a National Continuous Checking Capability. Together, these initiatives aim to improve consistency across jurisdictions and ensure changes to a person's clearance status are identified more quickly.

These reforms represent a significant step towards a more coordinated national approach to workforce regulation.

While legislation and regulation are important, governments have also placed considerable emphasis on strengthening child safe practice across the sector.

The rollout of mandatory national child safety training establishes, for the first time, a consistent baseline of knowledge and capability for educators and other staff working in NQF-regulated services. Advanced training modules are expected to further build workforce capability over the coming year.

Additional reforms have introduced restrictions on the use of personal mobile devices while educators are working directly with children, reinforcing expectations around supervision and safeguarding. At the same time, a national assessment examining the use of CCTV in more than 300 services is exploring how technology may support child safety while balancing children's privacy and wellbeing.

Together, these initiatives reflect a broader shift from responding to incidents towards building a proactive culture of child safety.

Regulatory oversight has also intensified throughout the year.

Expanded Commonwealth compliance powers have enabled a significant increase in unannounced inspections, while strengthened enforcement provisions provide regulators with greater flexibility to respond to serious concerns.

Families are also receiving greater access to information through enhanced transparency measures on StartingBlocks.gov.au, including details about regulatory visits, enforcement actions and conditions placed on approved services.

These changes are intended to improve public confidence while supporting informed decision-making by families seeking early childhood education and care.

One of the more significant longer-term reforms links child safety directly to workforce funding.

From July 2027, services that do not meet the requirements of Quality Area 2 Children's Health and Safety may become ineligible for worker retention payment funding.

This represents an important policy shift, recognising that workforce investment and child safety are closely connected and reinforcing the expectation that high-quality, safe learning environments underpin a sustainable ECEC sector.

Governments have also begun exploring the establishment of a national ECEC commission, following recommendations from the Productivity Commission.

While still in the early stages of development, a national commission could play an important role in strengthening governance, improving system stewardship and supporting greater consistency across Australia's early childhood education and care sector.

As the financial year closes, many providers will be reviewing not only their financial performance but also their readiness for the next stage of reform.

Key considerations include:

• ensuring workforce information remains current in the National Early Childhood Worker Register
• confirming all staff have completed mandatory child safety training
• reviewing Working with Children Check policies and reporting processes
• updating mobile device and safeguarding policies
• evaluating supervision practices and governance arrangements
• preparing for increased regulatory scrutiny and transparency requirements.

Increasingly, EOFY has become as much a compliance and governance milestone as it is a financial one.

Although substantial progress has been made during FY2025–26, implementation will continue throughout the coming year.

Further enhancements to the National Early Childhood Worker Register, the rollout of advanced child safety training, continued improvements to Working with Children Check arrangements and the outcomes of the national CCTV assessment are all expected to shape the sector over the next 12 months.

For providers, educators and service leaders, the focus is now shifting from understanding the reforms to embedding them into everyday practice.

As FY2025–26 comes to a close, one message is clear: child safety is no longer simply one aspect of quality practice. It has become a defining principle underpinning governance, workforce development, regulation and continuous improvement across Australia's early childhood education and care sector.

Read the full A year of action to strengthen child safety in early childhood education and care on the Australian Government Department of Education website here.