Childcare child safe environment policy: regulation 168(2)(h) in 2026

Last reviewed: 29 October 2026. Checked against the Education and Care Services National Regulations, reprint current as at 12 August 2026.

This page sets out the provisions a child safe environment policy rests on, how the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and state child safe standards fit around the Regulations, a contents checklist, and what officers look for under Element 2.2.3 and Standard 7.1. Training deadlines and mandatory reporting by state are on the child protection requirements page.

What regulation 168 requires

The provisions the policy must comply with

Provision	What it requires	Penalty
s 162A Law, r 128B	Child protection training for nominated supervisors, persons in day-to-day charge, staff members and volunteers: the training for the jurisdiction published on the ACECQA website, completed before the earlier of 14 days after engagement or starting to work directly with children.	$6,600 individual, $34,200 otherwise
s 162B Law, r 128D	Foundation child safety training for persons with management and control, nominated supervisors, day-to-day charge, staff and volunteers: same deadline; repeated every 2 years.	$6,600 / $34,200
s 162B Law, r 128E	Advanced child safety training for persons with management and control, nominated supervisors, day-to-day charge and staff working directly with children: within 3 months of engagement; every 2 years.	$6,600 / $34,200
r 417–419	Transitional: people engaged before the amendments or before 14 August 2026 complete the training before 27 August 2026.	Transitional
r 146(ca), r 147, r 179AA	Training completion and expiry dates recorded in the staff record, and for persons with management or control under r 179AA.	Prescribed record
r 84	Nominated supervisors, staff and volunteers advised of the child protection law and their obligations under it.	$3,300
s 165, s 166, s 167 Law	Adequate supervision; no corporal punishment or unreasonable discipline; every reasonable precaution against harm and hazards.	$34,200 individual, $172,200 otherwise
s 166A Law	No conduct a reasonable person would consider inappropriate in an education and care service: harm likely, sexual, aggressive or violent conduct, with consent immaterial and filming or photographing a child counted as conduct.	$34,200 individual, $172,000 otherwise
Part 6A Law (ss 175A–175J)	Images of children only on service-supplied devices; no personal devices while working directly with children except under listed exceptions or a written authorisation.	$6,600 individual, $34,200 provider
r 168(2)(o)	A child-focused complaint handling system and a procedure for complaints alleging harmful sexual behaviours by a child.	r 168(1): $3,300
r 175(2)(d), (e); r 176(2)(bb), (bc)	Incidents the provider reasonably believes involved physical or sexual abuse, and allegations of it, notified to the regulatory authority within 24 hours.	s 174: $13,500 / $68,700
r 176B, r 176C	Changes in working with children check or teacher registration status notified to the provider, and by the provider to the regulatory authority, within 24 hours.	$6,600 each
s 182–188 Law	Prohibition notices: a person subject to one must not work in a service, and a provider must not engage them.	s 188: $68,700 / $344,700

The National Principles and state child safe standards

The Regulations require a culture of child safety; the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, endorsed by all governments in 2019, describe what that looks like in ten principles: child safety embedded in leadership and culture; children informed and participating; families and communities informed and involved; equity upheld and diverse needs respected; suitable people; child-focused complaint processes; staff equipped through training and supervision; safe physical and online environments; continuous review; and documented policies. Most states have made a version binding on education and care services under their own law: the Child Safe Standards in Victoria (eleven standards under the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005), the Child Safe Scheme in New South Wales (ten standards under the Children’s Guardian Act 2019), the Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 in Queensland, the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework in Tasmania, the Child Safe Standards in the Australian Capital Territory, and the child safe environments provisions of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 in South Australia. Western Australia and the Northern Territory should check the current position with their regulator. The policy should name the scheme that applies to the service and map its sections to the standards.

What the policy must contain

1. Commitment statement naming child safety as the paramount consideration (section 3(3) of the Law) and the service’s zero tolerance of abuse.
2. Leadership and governance: who owns child safety at the board or owner level, how it is reported on, and the regulation 179AA training record for persons with management or control (Standard 7.1).
3. Recruitment and screening: working with children checks for every category the state law requires, referee checks that ask about conduct with children, the prohibition notice check under section 188, and the 24-hour notification duties in regulations 176B and 176C.
4. Training: the three courses, who must do each, the deadlines in regulations 128B, 128D and 128E, the 27 August 2026 transitional date, the regulation 84 child protection law advice at induction, and where completion and expiry are recorded.
5. Code of conduct (cross-referenced to the staffing policy): sections 165 to 167, section 166A, personal devices, professional boundaries, and never being alone with a child out of sight of others where the environment allows.
6. Physical and online environments: supervision plan and sightlines (regulation 115), bathroom and nappy change design, visitor controls, and the digital technologies policy for images, devices and CCTV.
7. Children’s participation: how children are taught about body safety and their right to be heard, and how they can raise a concern (regulation 168(2)(o)(i)).
8. Families and community: how families are informed about the policy and involved in reviewing it.
9. Responding and reporting: internal reporting to the nominated supervisor, the mandatory reporting duty under the state child protection law, the reportable conduct scheme where one applies, the regulation 175(2)(d) and (e) notifications within 24 hours, and the procedure for an allegation against a staff member including standing them down from contact with children while it is investigated.
10. Harmful sexual behaviours by a child: the procedure required by regulation 168(2)(o)(ii).
11. Records: what is recorded about concerns and allegations, who sees it (regulation 181), and retention under regulation 183 (incident-related records to age 25).
12. Review: annually and after any incident, with the National Principles self-assessment as the tool.

What assessors look for

Child safety is assessed under Element 2.2.3 (child safety and protection: management, educators and staff aware of their roles and responsibilities to identify and respond to every child at risk) and Standard 7.1 (governance supporting a service that is child safe). Since 2026 officers check training records against the regulation 128 deadlines, ask educators what the child protection law requires of them and who they report to, test the personal device rule by observation, and check that the complaints policy has a child-facing pathway. An allegation in the incident record that was not notified within 24 hours is a compliance matter in its own right.

Common gaps

• A policy adopted before 2026 that mentions none of sections 162A, 162B, 166A or Part 6A.
• Training completed but no expiry date recorded, so the 2-year refresher is never scheduled.
• Board members and owners (persons with management or control) with no foundation training and no regulation 179AA record.
• Allegations against staff handled as HR matters and not tested against regulation 175(2)(e).
• Children told the rules but given no way to raise a concern themselves.

Frequently asked questions

This page is a research summary, not legal or compliance advice. Element and regulation wording is reproduced from the current reprint of the National Regulations; confirm the position with your regulatory authority before relying on it for a compliance decision.