NSW Steps Up: Nation-Leading Child Safety

NSW Steps Up: Nation-Leading Child Safety

NSW Strengthens Child Safety in Early Education

NSW has introduced nation-leading reforms to child safety in early childhood education and care, taking a significant step forward in protecting the state’s youngest learners. The reforms were passed by the NSW Parliament following an independent review into early childhood education regulation, and they aim to restore parents’ trust while cracking down on unsafe or non-compliant providers.

The legislation amends the Children (Education and Care Services National Law Application) Act 2010 (National Law) and introduces more than 30 reforms, which focus on child-first obligations, transparency for families, and stronger enforcement measures. Key changes take effect immediately upon the legislation receiving assent by the NSW Governor.

Putting Children First – Transparency and Parental Oversight

These reforms are a clear legal obligation for providers and regulators to prioritise the rights, safety, and wellbeing of children above all else. The key measures ensure that every decision made within early childhood services prioritises the best interests of the child. These include:

• Compulsory child protection training for all staff, and child-safe recruitment practices;
• Legal responsibility to prevent children from being subjected to inappropriate conduct;
• Authority for the regulator to suspend or revoke quality ratings or impose supervision orders on educators when necessary.

The new laws provide families with greater access to information about the services their children attend, including:

• Notification to parents when the regulator opens an investigation into a serious incident;
• Display of short-form compliance histories at service premises and online;
• Publication of high-risk services and current investigations to alert families of potential concerns.

Increased visibility and transparency help families make informed decisions about their child’s care and hold providers accountable.

Tougher Penalties and Enforcement

NSW is taking a stronger stance against poor-quality providers. The strengthened measures provide regulators with the tools to act swiftly against non-compliant providers and reinforce the importance of accountability in early childhood education. The reforms include:

• A 900 per cent increase in maximum penalties for large providers operating 25 or more services;
• Strengthened whistleblower protections to encourage reporting of unsafe or
  inappropriate conduct;
• Extension of limitation periods for prosecuting offences, now starting from the date the regulator is notified rather than the date of the offence.

A New Era in Child Safety

The reforms go further than nationally agreed measures, fast-tracking protections for NSW children and positioning the state as a leader in child safety. Acting Minister for Education and Early Learning, Courtney Houssos, said, “Families deserve to know their children are safe, respected, and nurtured when they attend childcare, preschool, or outside school care. This legislation will ensure the safety and wellbeing of children comes first.”

The NSW Government has committed to continued advocacy for national consistency so that all children across Australia receive the same level of protection currently available in NSW.

What Every Early Childhood Service Needs

The new measures help services embed a culture of safety, accountability, and transparency. To comply with the updated laws, services should review and update their safeguarding practices, policies, and training, including:

• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policies outlining risk management and protective measures;
• Codes of Conduct for staff, volunteers, and contractors;
• Complaints handling policies that empower families and staff to safely raise concerns;
• Ensuring staff are trained in child protection and follow safe recruitment practices.

NSW’s child safety reforms are not just about legal obligations, but also about embedding a child-first culture. Services are encouraged to go beyond minimum compliance and make child safety a lived value in every decision, interaction, and process. Continuous improvement, consultation with families, and reflection on current practices are central to creating genuinely safe and nurturing environments for children.

How Can Safe Space Legal Help?

Safe Space Legal has extensive experience working with organisations in the early learning sector, and across NSW, to ensure they are meeting their child safety obligations.

Safe Space Legal provides the following services to ensure organisations meet their legal obligations:

• Supporting organisations to have robust recruitment strategies to keep children and young people safe;
• Providing organisations advice on their legal obligations and compliance;
• Drafting best practice child safety policies, procedures and codes of conduct;
• Conducting gap analysis audits of critical incidents;
• Providing training on legal obligations, duty of care and child safety;
• Conducting child safety investigations which are compliant with relevant state and territory schemes; and
• Provide sound legal advice on risk mitigation.

Contact office@safespacelegal.com.au or call (03) 9124 7321 to organise a complementary discussion in relation to your organisation’s safeguarding needs.