NSW and Victoria conduct nation-first early learning compliance blitz

The NSW Early Learning Commission and the Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA) have joined forces in a nation-leading compliance operation focused on child safety across the early childhood education and care sector.

The two-day blitz saw more than 200 officers conduct unannounced visits to more than 500 early learning and outside school hours care services across New South Wales and Victoria on Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 May.

The joint operation focused on new child safety reforms, including the mandatory National Early Childhood Worker Register, which has been introduced to improve visibility of people working across the sector and support stronger information sharing between regulators.

Approved providers were required to enter the details of their current workforce into the register by 27 March 2026, with new employees required to be added within 14 days.

During the visits, officers checked whether providers had successfully implemented the register and also spoke with services about child-safe recruitment and employment practices.

The Victorian Government said the findings of the campaign, including any compliance actions taken as a result of the visits, will be shared in coming weeks.

Since the beginning of the year, NSW has conducted 3,190 visits and Victoria has conducted more than 1,540 visits, with more than half of those unannounced. (vic.gov.au)

NSW Early Learning Commissioner Daryl Currie said the joint operation reflected the importance of collaboration in strengthening sector oversight.

“Child safety is a shared responsibility and strong collaboration between regulators, agencies, providers, services and families is essential to getting it right,” Mr Currie said.

VECRA Interim Regulator Adam Fennessy PSM said the worker register was a critical tool for preventing harm to children.

“Parents have every right to expect that all of Victoria’s early childhood services are providing safe and quality education and care, including complying with the new child safety laws,” Mr Fennessy said.

“Our authorised officers play a critical role in supporting and monitoring high quality and safe care. They will be putting providers on notice if they don’t meet their key obligations.”

Is this helping the sector?

The operation is likely to generate mixed reactions across the sector.

For many providers, educators and families, visible regulatory activity may provide reassurance that governments are taking child safety seriously and actively monitoring compliance with new reforms. The introduction of the National Early Childhood Worker Register has also been positioned as an important step toward strengthening workforce transparency and improving information sharing between jurisdictions.

At the same time, some operators continue to express concern about the increasing intensity of regulatory oversight, particularly as services navigate workforce shortages, financial pressures and a growing volume of compliance obligations.

The scale of the blitz also reflects a broader shift underway in early childhood regulation nationally, with regulators increasingly adopting proactive and intelligence-led enforcement models rather than relying solely on complaints-based investigations.

This includes:

• more frequent unannounced visits,
• targeted compliance campaigns,
• cross-agency information sharing,
• greater scrutiny of governance and workforce practices, and
• stronger public messaging around enforcement and accountability.

For the sector, the challenge will be balancing stronger child safety safeguards with maintaining provider confidence, workforce stability and operational sustainability.

The joint blitz marks a significant step in cross-border regulatory cooperation and signals that child safety compliance will remain a central focus of early childhood regulation moving forward.

Read the full Victorian Government media release.