New inappropriate conduct offence reshapes child safety expectations across ECEC

With new legal obligations now in force, services are moving quickly to strengthen practice, culture and accountability, signalling a significant shift in how child safety is understood and enacted across the sector.

The inappropriate conduct offence under the Education and Care Services National Law is now in effect across Australia, marking one of the most significant child safety reforms since the introduction of the National Quality Framework.

Every adult working or volunteering in an education and care service is prohibited from engaging in conduct that a reasonable person would consider inappropriate in the presence of children.

The reform extends beyond compliance. It is already reshaping service culture, professional expectations, training priorities, and how providers approach risk, supervision and workforce capability.

The offence applies to all adults in a service, including approved providers, nominated supervisors, educators, staff, students and volunteers. It also establishes a clear obligation for providers and nominated supervisors to ensure children are not exposed to inappropriate conduct by any person within the service.

This builds on existing prohibitions on inappropriate discipline but broadens the scope to include any behaviour that is unsafe, unprofessional or harmful, regardless of intent.

The law applies a “reasonable person” test, considering whether behaviour:

• aligns with accepted ECEC practice
• is appropriate for a child’s age and development
• could cause emotional, psychological or physical harm
• involves sexual, aggressive or violent elements
• breaches professional boundaries

Consent is not a defence. Children cannot agree to behaviour that is unsafe or inappropriate.

With the offence now active, services are rapidly adjusting. Several trends are emerging.

Providers are strengthening expectations around tone, language, physical contact and boundaries. Behaviours once viewed as poor practice are now recognised as potential legal breaches.

This is driving clearer codes of conduct, stronger leadership modelling and earlier intervention when concerns arise.

The offence introduces reporting obligations where conduct poses a risk to a child’s health, safety or wellbeing.

Services are seeing increased internal reporting, more escalation to nominated supervisors and greater regulatory notification where risk is identified. This reflects heightened vigilance and improved confidence in identifying unsafe behaviour.

The reform recognises that children are affected by what they witness.

Services are reviewing how staff communicate, how conflict is managed, and the overall emotional climate within environments. Respectful, psychologically safe workplaces are now recognised as central to child safety.

Providers are updating policies across key areas, including interactions with children, supervision, digital technology use, toileting and intimate care, complaints and reportable conduct, and professional boundaries.

Many are incorporating practical guidance and real-world scenarios to support consistent interpretation.

Demand for targeted professional learning is rising, particularly in child safe principles, identifying inappropriate conduct, recognising grooming behaviours, digital safety, professional boundaries and trauma-informed practice.

Induction programs are being strengthened, with regular refresher training becoming more common.

The offence reinforces children’s rights to safety, respect and agency.

Services are embedding body safety education, encouraging children to speak up, incorporating child voice into decision-making, and creating multiple avenues for children to express discomfort. These approaches align with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

The introduction of the inappropriate conduct offence signals a clear shift in regulatory expectations. Child safety is no longer confined to policy, t must be visible in everyday practice.

This requires consistent modelling, strong leadership, transparent communication, early intervention and shared responsibility across the workforce.

For providers, the reform is prompting closer examination of organisational culture, supervision systems and daily interactions.

For educators, it clarifies professional boundaries and reinforces the importance of safe, respectful and developmentally appropriate practice.

For families, it strengthens confidence that services are accountable and committed to safeguarding children.

The offence is now in force, but its long-term impact will depend on how effectively it is embedded across services.

Sustainable implementation requires leaders who act early and consistently, teams that feel safe to raise concerns, environments where children’s rights are actively upheld, and ongoing training that builds capability rather than compliance fatigue.

Policies must be understood, applied and regularly reviewed, not simply documented.

This reform represents more than a regulatory shift. It signals a broader cultural change, where child safety becomes an active, shared and visible priority across every aspect of service delivery.

The legislation sets the expectation. The sector’s response will determine its impact.

Access the ACECQA information sheet here.