Queensland updates Education and Care Services Regulation 2026, strengthening requirements for QEC approved services

Queensland Education and Care approved services will face updated requirements covering child safety, transportation, sleep and rest, digital technologies and incident reporting when the Education and Care Services Regulation 2026 takes effect from 1 September.

The Queensland Government has finalised the Education and Care Services Regulation 2026, replacing the 2013 regulation and introducing a range of changes for Queensland Education and Care (QEC) approved services.

The new regulation takes effect on 1 September 2026, with one and three-month transition periods applying to some requirements.

Importantly, the changes apply to services regulated under Queensland’s Education and Care Services Act 2013, rather than services regulated under the National Quality Framework (NQF).

The new regulation introduces several requirements relating to child safety and wellbeing, with changes commencing at different points between September and December.

Key changes include:

• regular transportation – new requirements covering policies and procedures, risk assessments, authorisations, notifications and recordkeeping
• sleep and rest – new policy, procedure and risk assessment requirements, alongside a prohibition on bassinets at QEC approved service premises
• child safe environments – policies and procedures will need to address the promotion of a culture of child safety and wellbeing
• complaints – policies and procedures will need to provide for a child-focused complaints system and address complaints alleging that a child is exhibiting harmful sexual behaviours
• reporting suspected abuse – incidents where an approved provider reasonably believes physical or sexual abuse of a child has occurred or is occurring while the child is receiving education and care will be classified as serious incidents and must be reported to the Regulatory Authority within 24 hours
• digital technologies and online environments – new requirements will apply to policies and procedures covering digital devices, children’s images and videos, authorisations and online environments.

The changes follow a range of national child safety reforms and reviews, including the 2023 Review of Child Safety Arrangements under the NQF.

The regulation also makes changes to incident reporting and recordkeeping.

A serious incident involving emergency services will include an incident attended by emergency services, replacing the previous wording covering circumstances where attendance “was sought, or ought reasonably to have been sought”.

Parents must be notified of an incident, injury, trauma or illness involving their child no later than 24 hours after the occurrence, while relevant information must also be recorded within 24 hours.

The regulation also clarifies when approved first aid qualifications, anaphylaxis management training and emergency asthma management training are considered current.

The updated regulation expands qualification options for educators working in school age care services.

The changes align the available qualifications with the broader range approved by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) for working with children over preschool age in Queensland.

While the regulation commences on 1 September 2026, not every new requirement takes effect immediately.

Changes including the prohibition on bassinets, vaping requirements and several incident reporting provisions commence on 1 September.

From 1 October, approved providers must ensure staff are informed about their obligations under the Child Protection Act 1999.

A three-month transition applies to several other requirements, which commence on 1 December. These include requirements relating to regular transportation, sleep and rest policies and risk assessments, child safe environment and complaints policies, and digital technologies and online environments.

The staged commencement gives affected services time to review existing practices and make changes before the relevant provisions take effect.

Many of the requirements introduced through the regulation already apply to services regulated under the NQF.

The Queensland Government has advised QEC approved services that existing ACECQA guidance may assist them to understand and implement some of the new requirements.

This distinction is important for the broader early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector: the Education and Care Services Regulation 2026 does not introduce these requirements for NQF-regulated services, which operate under the Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations.

Affected approved providers will need to identify which requirements apply to their services and when each provision commences.

Depending on the service, this may include reviewing transportation arrangements, sleep and rest practices, digital technology policies, complaints procedures, child safe environment policies and incident reporting processes.

Providers will also need to ensure relevant staff understand new requirements, including reporting obligations and responsibilities under the Child Protection Act 1999.

With different provisions commencing on 1 September, 1 October and 1 December, services should consider the applicable transition periods when planning policy, procedure and operational changes.

Full information about the Education and Care Services Regulation 2026, including commencement dates and transition arrangements, is available from the Queensland Government here.