Updated Queensland Education and Care Services Regulation 2026: Have you made the required changes?

Queensland Education and Care approved services operating outside the National Quality Framework are being urged to review their policies, procedures and everyday practices following the commencement of updated regulatory requirements.

The Education and Care Services Regulation 2026 commenced on 1 September 2026, replacing the Education and Care Services Regulation 2013.

The changes strengthen requirements relating to child safety, transportation, sleep and rest, digital technologies, vaping and the reporting of alleged physical or sexual abuse.

Many of the provisions reflect requirements that have applied to services regulated under the National Quality Framework for several years. A growing collection of ACECQA resources can therefore help affected Queensland services understand and implement the changes.

The question for approved providers is no longer simply whether they have read the new Regulation, but whether the changes have been communicated, implemented and embedded in practice.

The updated Regulation applies to Queensland Education and Care services regulated under the state-based Education and Care Services Act 2013.

These services are not regulated under the National Quality Framework.

This distinction is important. Most long day care, family day care, kindergarten and outside school hours care services operate under the NQF and are not directly regulated by the new Queensland Regulation.

Providers should confirm which legislative framework applies to each of their services before determining what action is required.

The new Regulation responds to several significant reviews and inquiries, including:

• reviews of the National Quality Framework;
• the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse;
• the 2023 Review of Child Safety Arrangements under the NQF; and
• a coronial investigation.

The reforms are intended to strengthen child safety and bring Queensland’s state-regulated education and care services into closer alignment with requirements applying across the broader national sector.

What has changed?

New requirements apply when a QEC approved service regularly transports children or arranges for their transportation.

Affected providers should review their:

• transportation risk assessments;
• written authorisations;
• procedures for accounting for children;
• supervision arrangements;
• embarkation and disembarkation processes;
• communication with families; and
• records relating to regular transportation.

Transportation procedures must clearly allocate responsibility at each stage of a child’s journey, particularly during transitions between vehicles, service premises and responsible adults.

The Regulation introduces updated requirements relating to children’s sleep and rest.

Providers should review whether their risk assessments, policies and everyday practices:

• consider children’s ages, developmental stages and individual needs;
• identify risks within sleep and rest environments;
• address supervision and physical checks;
• reflect current safe sleep guidance;
• consider environmental factors such as temperature, ventilation, lighting and bedding; and
• respond to information provided by families.

ACECQA released an updated Sleep and rest risk assessment template in August 2026. The template includes strengthened guidance for different service types, including outside school hours care.

While developed for NQF-regulated services, it may provide a useful starting point for affected QEC providers when adapted to their service context and the requirements of the Queensland Regulation.

The new Regulation strengthens the alignment of QEC services with national child safe principles.

Services should consider how child safety is embedded across:

• governance and leadership;
• organisational culture;
• recruitment and induction;
• codes of conduct;
• staff training and supervision;
• complaints management;
• risk assessment;
• culturally safe practice;
• children’s participation; and
• communication with families.

Child safety should be evident in the decisions people make and the way they work with children, not only in the service’s written policies.

New requirements address the safe use of digital technologies and online environments.

Affected services should review their policies and procedures covering:

• personal digital devices;
• service-owned or service-authorised devices;
• the taking, storage and sharing of children’s images and recordings;
• privacy, consent and access controls;
• online learning and communication platforms;
• data security;
• prohibited conduct;
• the use of devices by staff, volunteers, contractors and visitors; and
• the identification and management of online safety risks.

ACECQA’s information sheet on using digital devices in centre-based services explains the national restrictions applying to personal devices and the capture, storage and transmission of children’s images.

The Safe use of digital technologies and online environments policy and procedure guidelines can also assist providers to review the scope and content of their existing documentation.

QEC providers should use these national resources as supporting guidance while ensuring their final policies reflect the requirements of the Queensland legislation applying to them.

The updated Regulation includes provisions prohibiting vaping, bringing QEC requirements into closer alignment with existing restrictions relating to smoking and tobacco products.

Providers should ensure vaping is expressly addressed in relevant policies, codes of conduct, staff expectations and information provided to families and visitors.

The physical boundaries within which the prohibition applies should also be clearly understood.

The Regulation introduces changes to notification requirements and timeframes when physical or sexual abuse of a child has occurred, or is alleged to have occurred, while the child is being educated and cared for by a service.

Approved providers should confirm:

• which circumstances trigger a notification;
• which authority or authorities must be notified;
• the applicable reporting timeframe;
• who is responsible for making the notification;
• how immediate safety concerns will be managed;
• what information and records must be retained; and
• how internal escalation will occur without delaying an external report.

Educators and staff should understand the difference between internally reporting a concern and meeting any mandatory external notification requirements.

The Regulation also includes miscellaneous amendments intended to clarify existing requirements and improve alignment with the Education and Care Services National Regulations.

Providers should avoid relying only on summaries of the reforms. A complete gap analysis should be undertaken against the provisions applying to their particular service.

Not every provision commenced in full on 1 September 2026.

The Queensland Government has advised that some changes commenced immediately, while other requirements are subject to transitional periods of either one or three months.

This means providers must identify:

• which provisions already apply;
• which provisions have a transitional commencement date;
• what must be completed before each deadline; and
• what evidence will demonstrate implementation.

A transition period is time provided for implementation—it should not be treated as a reason to delay reviewing the requirements.

Affected providers can use the following questions as an initial implementation check:

• Have we confirmed that our service is regulated under the Queensland Education and Care Services Act 2013?
• Have we mapped every applicable change and commencement date?
• Have our transportation risk assessments, records and authorisations been reviewed?
• Have we updated our sleep and rest risk assessment and procedures?
• Are the National Child Safe Principles reflected across governance and practice?
• Do we have a current policy addressing digital technologies and online environments?
• Are personal-device restrictions clear to employees, volunteers and other relevant people?
• Have our policies and codes of conduct been updated to address vaping?
• Do staff understand the new notification requirements and timeframes?
• Have families been informed about changes that affect them?
• Have staff received training rather than simply being sent an updated policy?
• Can we produce evidence showing that the changes have been implemented?

The ACECQA Resource Finder provides access to information sheets, policy guidelines, posters, templates and other practical materials.

Resources that may assist affected QEC services include:

• the Sleep and rest risk assessment template;
• Sleep and rest legislative requirements;
• Using digital devices in centre-based education and care services;
• Safe use of digital technologies and online environments;
• Adequate supervision resources; and
• Active supervision in six steps.

These resources do not replace the Queensland legislation or service-specific legal advice. They can, however, support providers to translate regulatory obligations into effective policies, risk controls and everyday practices.

The Queensland Government is encouraging approved providers to familiarise themselves with the requirements, identify gaps, update their documentation, support staff to understand the changes and communicate relevant information to families.

Further information is available through the Queensland Government’s Updated Queensland Education and Care Services Regulation 2026 guidance.

Ultimately, compliance will not be demonstrated by changing a policy’s review date. Providers must be able to show that the new requirements are understood, reflected in practice and monitored over time.