Regulation 168(2)(m) requires every education and care service to have policies and procedures on the acceptance and refusal of authorisations. The policy sets out how the service checks that a written or verbal permission is valid before acting on it, and when it must refuse one. The authorisations it covers come from other regulations: medication (r 92 to 94), collection and leaving the premises (r 99), excursions (r 102), transport (r 102D), medical treatment and ambulance (r 161) and images and videos of children (r 168(2)(ha)).
What the regulations require each authorisation to contain, who can give it, when it can be verbal, and what the policy should tell educators to do when an authorisation is missing or invalid.
Regulation 168(1) requires the approved provider to have policies and procedures on each matter in subregulation (2), and paragraph (m) is “the acceptance and refusal of authorisations”. The regulation does not list what the policy must say, so the content comes from the regulations that create each authorisation. The provider must take reasonable steps to ensure staff follow it (regulation 170), it must be readily accessible (regulation 171), and parents must get at least 14 days’ notice of a change that may significantly affect their child’s care or their ability to use the service (regulation 172). See the full list in our regulation 168 guide.
The enrolment record (regulation 160) must record the name, address and contact details of each parent and of any person who is:
The policy should tell staff to check every authorisation against the enrolment record, and against any court orders, parenting orders or parenting plans the provider has been given, which regulation 160 also requires to be recorded.
| Authorisation | Rule | What makes it valid |
|---|---|---|
| Administering medication | r 92, r 93 | Recorded in the child’s medication record and signed by a parent or a person named in the enrolment record as authorised to consent to administration of medication (including any self-administration). In an emergency it can be given verbally by that person or, if they cannot reasonably be contacted, by a registered medical practitioner or emergency service; a parent or family member must then get written notice as soon as practicable. |
| Anaphylaxis or asthma emergency | r 94 | No authorisation needed. A parent and emergency services must be notified as soon as practicable. |
| Collection and leaving the premises | r 99 | A child may leave only with a parent, an authorised nominee named in the enrolment record, or a person authorised by one of them to collect the child; under the written authorisation of a parent or authorised nominee; on an authorised excursion or transport; or for medical care or another emergency. A parent prohibited by a court order from contact is not a “parent” for this rule. |
| Excursions | r 102 | Written, from a parent or a person named in the enrolment record with that authority, and stating the child’s name, reason, date (or when, for a regular outing), destination, transport and restraint requirements, activities, time away, expected numbers of children and adults, the anticipated ratio, and that a risk assessment is available. For a regular outing it is needed once in 12 months. |
| Transport | r 102D | Written, from a parent or authorised person, with similar details including pick-up and destination, and that a risk assessment and the transport policy are available. For regular transport it is needed once in 12 months. |
| Medical treatment and ambulance | r 161 | Kept in the enrolment record and signed by a parent or a person authorised to consent to medical treatment, allowing staff to seek treatment from a doctor, hospital or ambulance service and ambulance transport. |
| Images and videos of children | r 168(2)(ha) | The digital technologies policy must cover obtaining authorisation from parents to take, use and store images and videos of children. See our digital technologies policy guide. |
A policy required by regulation 168(2)(m) that tells staff how to check that a permission from a family (for medication, collection, excursions, transport, medical treatment or images) is valid before acting on it, and when to refuse it.
A parent or a person named in the child's enrolment record as authorised to consent to administration of medication, signed in the medication record (regulation 92). In an emergency it can be verbal, or from a doctor or emergency service if that person can't be contacted (regulation 93(5)).
Only if a parent or authorised nominee named in the enrolment record has authorised that person to collect the child (regulation 99(4)(a)(iii)). The policy should set out how staff verify that authorisation and the person's identity.
Each excursion needs written authorisation under regulation 102, but for a regular outing the authorisation only has to be obtained once in a 12-month period (regulation 102(5)).
No. Regulation 94 allows medication to be given without authorisation in an anaphylaxis or asthma emergency, but a parent and emergency services must be notified as soon as practicable.
WIDEN Law answers National Quality Framework questions with inline citations to the National Law, the Regulations and the NQS, so you can check the source provision yourself.
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