Childcare News – Australia

From 5 January 2026, the government-mandated 3 Day Guarantee replaces the previous Child Care Subsidy (CCS) activity test, ensuring all CCS-eligible families can access 72 hours (three days) of subsidised early childhood education and care (ECEC) per fortnight as a baseline entitlement. This change is designed to improve access, particularly for families with irregular work patterns and those previously locked out of subsidised care.

What this means:
Families will benefit from more predictable childcare subsidy entitlements and potentially lower out-of-pocket costs, while services can expect greater enrolment stability and continuity of care. Approved providers should update communications, billing and enrolment guidance to reflect the new rules.

Summary:
The Emali Early Learning Centre in Prospect, South Australia drew criticism after publishing a calendar that described Australia Day (26 January) as “Invasion Day.” The item was visible to families before being removed. The centre issued an apology and committed to improving communication protocols.

[ Original Article ]

What this means:
Childcare centres are increasingly in the public eye on community and cultural issues — even seemingly administrative communications can spark dispute. Providers should have clear governance around communications and sensitive topics. Parents should feel empowered to ask centres about their communication policies and how cultural inclusivity is managed.

Summary:
An 18-year-old former childcare worker in Bathurst, NSW, has pleaded guilty to assaulting a three-year-old child at a local childcare centre, admitting to slapping the child in the face. The matter was dealt with in court, with sentencing pending.

[ Original Article ]

What this means:
Criminal conduct by staff hits at the core of trust between families and services. Providers should ensure robust staff supervision, clear codes of conduct, incident reporting, and transparent family communication after serious events. Parents should understand a centre’s behaviour management policies and how incidents are investigated and communicated.

Summary:

The federal government has announced that from early 2026, early childhood education and care (ECEC) services will be allowed to close from 5 pm on up to five days per year so staff can attend mandatory child-safety training. The reforms are part of a broader package including proposed CCTV trials, a National Educator Register, and unannounced spot-checks.

[ Original Article ]

What this means:

Services: must plan ahead — allocate time and update parents when centres will close; integrate training into annual scheduling; ensure all staff attend.
Parents: expect occasional after-hours closures; use the opportunity to ask centres about how the training will improve safety, what is covered, and how they implement lessons into everyday practices.

Summary:

In the Northern Territory a childcare centre (Humpty Doo Community & Child Care Centre) has had two staff members and three nominated supervisors charged under the Education and Care Services National Law in relation to the 2023 death of a 22-month-old child. The charges include failure to adequately supervise children and failure to protect from harm. The incident involved the child being unaccounted for for around ten minutes and subsequently suffering fatal injury.

[ Original Article ]

What this means:

This is a sobering reminder for services that supervision, attendance tracking, hazard-identification and incident-response systems must be rock-solid. For parents: it emphasises the importance of asking how the centre tracks children’s whereabouts, how often staff to children ratios are checked, how incident investigations are handled and how open the centre is with families when something goes wrong.

Summary:

The Victorian Government has announced sweeping reforms to the childcare safety regime, to be implemented from 2026. Changes include unifying the Working With Children Check (WWCC), Reportable Conduct Scheme and Child Safe Standards under one new regulator (the proposed Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority) and giving it expanded powers to reassess, suspend or revoke WWCCs when credible information emerges. Mandatory child-safety training and testing for all WWCC applicants will be introduced, along with a new Intelligence & Risk Assessment Unit. The move follows a high-profile case involving a childcare worker charged with 73 offences.

[ Original Article ]

What this means:

For services: expect a stricter regulatory environment — review your staff screening, training and risk-assessment frameworks now.

For parents: ask your centre how it will comply with these reforms, what training staff have, how the centre handles safety risks and what governance changes are planned.

Summary:

According to the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) latest snapshot, the proportion of services operating under staffing waivers (i.e., employing less-than-qualified staff under exemption) continues to decrease.

[ Original Article ]

While the reduction in waivers is a positive sign for workforce quality, ongoing staff supply pressures mean services must still manage risk. For providers: maintain strong training pipelines and succession plans, verify educator credentials and monitor waiver usage. For parents: ask whether the centre uses staffing waivers, how often and what their plan is to transition to fully qualified staffing.

Summary:

A commentary piece in the ECEC sector discusses shifting subsidy policy – expanding subsidies (Child Care Subsidy) to support informal care (grandparents, relatives) and broader definitions of care, as part of a child-centred/sector lens.

[ Original Article ]

What this means:

Potential policy change horizon: if subsidies expand to include informal carers, centres may need to update their family communications, fee structures and enrolment logic. For services: monitor policy movement, consider how this might affect demand, siblings and fee positioning. For parents: stay alert to subsidy eligibility changes and how they might affect your care mix (centre-based vs informal/family-daycare).

Summary:

The latest Jobs and Skills Australia 2025 Occupation Shortage Driver Report finds that the early childhood education & care (ECEC) workforce continues to face deep structural shortages, driven by the long-training pathway for early childhood teachers and retention issues for child-care educators.

[ Original Article ]

What this means:

Services should recognise workforce risk as a key strategic issue: recruiting, retaining and upskilling educators must be a priority. For providers this means investing in career pathways, mentorship, flexible conditions and succession planning. For families it flags that some centres may face service disruptions or higher educator turnover—so ask about staff stability, educator-to-child ratios and how the centre manages recruitment/retention risks.

Summary:

A 43-year-old worker at a childcare centre in Dundas (Sydney’s Northwest) has been charged with assaulting a three-year-old in the face. The arrest was made by Ryde Police Area Command and the worker has been granted conditional bail.

[ Original Article ]

What this means:

This incident underscores the ongoing reputational and regulatory risk for services. Providers should review incident response protocols, ensure all staff understand mandatory reporting obligations and immediately communicate with families where necessary. Clear documentation of staff misconduct, swift action and transparent parent communication are more important than ever.

Summary:

Two workers at the “Little Zak’s Academy” centre in Doonside (Sydney’s west) have been charged with five counts of common assault each, after an investigation into allegations of repeated assaults on a child on 13 October. Both staff members have been terminated.

[ Original Article ]

What this means:

For services: this is a signal that serious misconduct is still emerging in the sector—and that centres must have zero-tolerance policies plus robust screening/training mechanisms.

For parents: this case highlights the importance of asking how a centre handles incidents, how staff are screened and re-checked, and how often the service conducts internal safety audits to ensure ongoing compliance.

Summary:

The Department of Education (Australia) announced a pilot to conduct unannounced spot-checks at approximately 40-45 early childhood education and care (ECEC) services across NSW, QLD, VIC & WA, starting in October 2025. The initiative follows new legislation passed 31 July granting new powers of entry; visits will aim to identify CCS compliance risks and refer quality concerns to state regulators.

[ Original Article ]

What this means:

Services must assume they could be inspected at any time — even without notice. This isn’t just about subsidy compliance, it’s increasingly about safety, documentation, educator ratios, and records. Providers should audit their readiness: ensure attendance, educator qualifications, duty statements, incident logs and CCS-linked records are current and accurate. The message to the sector is clear: “be audit-ready always.”

Summary:

The Victorian Government has introduced amendments to the Worker Screening Act 2020 (VIC) and its WWCC scheme, effective October 2025. Changes include immediate suspension powers for the screening unit, automatic recognition of interstate exclusions, and enhanced employer monitoring of clearances in the early childhood sector.

[ Original Article ]

What this means:

Early learning services in Victoria (and those with staff moving across states) need to review their HR, recruitment and onboarding policies now. Services can no longer rely on “once-checked, always valid” assumptions. Frequent checks, bulk-verification tools and logging of clearance status changes will become best practice. For multi-state providers, this signals increasing harmonisation of cross-jurisdictional risk.

Summary:

Industry group HumanAbility (and other partners) have launched a review into how vocational qualifications in early childhood education and care align with workforce needs. The review will examine foundational training, career pathways, and how qualifications map to practice across long day care, preschool and family day care contexts.

[ Original Article ]

What this means:

Educators and services should monitor this process closely — changes could affect staff training requirements, scope of practice, and even qualification recognition. For services it’s an opportunity: aligning your professional development and roles with emerging standards will position you ahead of regulatory change, potentially improving retention and quality.

Summary:

Affinity Education (one of Australia’s largest early learning providers) announced the resignation of its CEO and COO following sector scrutiny linked to safety and quality issues. A new CEO has been appointed in the wake of regulatory and media pressure.

[ Original Article ]

What this means:

While this is a provider-specific story, it sends a signal across the sector: governance, leadership oversight and quality assurance are under heightened scrutiny. Smaller services should not assume they are exempt. Board minutes, leadership accountability, incident management and quality improvement documentation will all receive more attention from families, regulators and the media.

Summary:

The early learning sector in Western Australia is being urged to review its obligations under the Reportable Conduct Scheme (WA). Providers must ensure processes are clear for investigating, documenting and notifying alleged child-related harm in accordance with the updated standards.

Original Article

What this means:

If your service is in WA, or has multiple locations including WA, now is the time to check internal policies, incident logs, notifications to the Ombudsman, educator training and communication to families. Non-compliance may trigger enforcement action or affect funding eligibility. It’s not just about reacting to incidents—it’s about proactive readiness.

Summary:

The Government has released an updated list of approved programs eligible for the Additional Child Care Subsidy (Child Wellbeing) category, enabling families who face risks (such as child protection, family violence) to access subsidies through listed programs.

Original Article

What this means:

Services administering children eligible under ACCS should update their records, family communications and funding screens. New programs mean new opportunities — but only if your service is aware and prepared. Also, programming needs to reflect the “Child Wellbeing” category’s expectations: rigorous assessment of risk, strong family-partnership documentation and clear links to quality learning outcomes.

Summary:

From 5 January 2026, all CCS-eligible families will receive a guaranteed minimum of three days of subsidised early learning per week, regardless of activity-test hours. First Nations families will receive up to 100 hours per fortnight of subsidised care.

What this means:

Services should plan now for roster changes, room ratios, and possible waitlist movement. More families may take up additional days — meaning higher demand for staffing, orientation processes, and transitions for younger children. This reform is also likely to increase pressure on educator availability.

Summary:

State and Federal Education Ministers released a national communiqué flagging stronger child safety measures, workforce support, and improved regulatory oversight in early learning.

What this means:

Expect future regulatory tightening — especially in documentation, supervision, and safety accountability. Policies should be reviewed with a child-safety lens, not a compliance-only mindset. Services with strong existing systems will feel minimal impact; others may face significant change.

Summary:

Strengthened national child-safety requirements under the NQF took effect on 1 September 2025, including enhanced expectations around preventing harm, investigations, and reporting pathways.

What this means:

Providers should confirm policies, staff training records, induction procedures, and internal reporting steps are clear and up to date. Regulators will assume services already meet these expectations — “we’re working on it” will not be an acceptable defence in assessments or audits.

Summary:

ACECQA released two detailed guides to support services in applying the new NQF child-safety changes, including examples of safe practice, supervision strategies, and policy alignment.

What this means:

Services should reference ACECQA guides directly in staff meetings, PD, and QIP updates. Using the guidance is now the easiest way to demonstrate continuous improvement under NQS Areas 2, 4, and 7.

Summary:

Queensland has reduced the timeframe for notifying regulators of alleged physical or sexual abuse involving children in care — now within 24 hours.

What this means:

QLD services must update flowcharts, staff handbooks, escalation steps, and on-call leadership expectations. A slow or unclear reporting pathway now represents a major regulatory risk.

Summary:

ACECQA (Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority) released two practical guides in June 2025 to support services in interpreting and implementing the child-safety changes under the NQF. These include examples of safe supervision, managing allegations, and embedding child-safe cultures.

What this means:

Use these guides as evidence of professional reflection — reference them in QIPs, staff meetings and policy revisions to demonstrate alignment with nationally accepted guidance.
Services that can show they reviewed the ACECQA guides, updated their processes accordingly, and logged those updates will be in a stronger position during assessments.
Because this guidance has been available since June, you have no excuse for delay. If you cannot show dated action (training, policy change, meeting minutes) predating the A&R visit, assessors may infer a lag in your compliance cycle.
Customise your implementation — stand-alone “child-safe” policies are good, but embedding the guidance into daily practice (e.g., supervision checklists, risk workflows, family-engagement protocols) is essential.

Summary:

In Queensland, services must now notify the regulator of alleged physical or sexual harm within 24 hours. This reduces the previous timeframe and emphasises urgency in response protocols.

What this means:

QLD-based services must update their incident policy, zoom in on the escalation steps, and make sure staff know the shorter timeframe. A failure to lodge within 24 hours could be reported as non-compliance.
Ensure your after-hours/on-call leadership knows their role. Immediate triage, documentation and regulator notification must be triggered without delay.
Include this requirement in your PD sessions, simulation drills and staff handbook so there’s no ambiguity around deadlines or roles.
For multi-state providers, ensure cross-jurisdiction consistency: your QLD policy may differ from another state, so your policy suite must clearly show these variations, and staff must be aware which policies apply.

[ Read More ]

Summary:

The article examines how the early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems of Denmark, Canada and Australia compare in terms of access, funding, quality, and workforce investment.

• Denmark is highlighted as a global benchmark: the government heavily subsidises early-learning, limiting what parents pay; municipalities cap fees; and every child is guaranteed a place from around age one. Educators are well-paid and hold professional status.
• Canada has recently moved toward a “$10-a-day childcare” model via federal–provincial agreements aimed at improving affordability, access and workforce stability—recognising that cost, quality and equity must go hand in hand.
• Australia’s system focuses on the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and reforms such as the “3-day guarantee” from January 2026, which will secure 72 hours of subsidised care for eligible families regardless of their activity test. Workforce shortages and educator retention are central to Australia’s reform agenda.

The piece identifies common success factors in high-performing systems: long-term government investment, a professional, stable workforce, and mechanisms to ensure equitable access. These features provide benchmarks for Australia’s ongoing reforms in the sectors of affordability, access and quality.

Key Takeaways for Australia

Australia’s upcoming reforms (like the 3-day guarantee) are steps in the right direction, but aligning workforce development, educator pay, and quality assurance with these access initiatives remains a challenge.

Affordable access alone is not sufficient; quality and workforce stability are equally essential.
Denmark’s low parental fees and high educator status illustrate the impact of valuing the workforce.
Canada’s systemic funding reform shows how government-led commitments can shift the childcare market.