The enrolment and orientation policy is required by regulation 168(2)(k). Its legal content is the enrolment record in regulations 160 to 162: the child’s details, every parent, emergency contact, authorised nominee and person authorised to consent to medical treatment, excursions or transport, any court orders or parenting plans, language, culture and special considerations, the medical and ambulance authorisation, regular outing and transport authorisations, the child’s doctor and Medicare number, health care needs, allergies and anaphylaxis diagnosis, medical management and risk minimisation plans, dietary restrictions, immunisation status, and in NSW and Victoria the immunisation documents the state public health law requires. Two neighbouring policies usually sit with it: acceptance and refusal of authorisations (r 168(2)(m)) and payment of fees (r 168(2)(n)), with the 14-day notice rule for fee changes in regulation 172(2).
This page sets out the enrolment record item by item, the orientation elements the NQS expects, the authorisations policy and the fees policy, and the gaps officers record under Standard 6.1.
Regulation 168 does not publish model policies. It names the matter the policy must cover and the operational regulations the procedures must comply with. This page reproduces those regulations from the reprint current as at 12 August 2026 and turns them into a contents checklist. Write the policy for your service, in your words, against this list. The regulation 168 hub covers the full set and regulations 169 to 172 on following, keeping available and changing policies.
168(2)(k) enrolment and orientation; (m) the acceptance and refusal of authorisations; (n) payment of fees and provision of a statement of fees charged by the education and care service.
| Provision | Must be in the enrolment record |
|---|---|
| 160(3)(a) | Full name, date of birth and address of the child. |
| 160(3)(b) | Name, address and contact details of each known parent; any person to be notified of an emergency if a parent cannot be contacted; any authorised nominee (a person given permission by a parent or family member to collect the child, s 170(5)); any person authorised to consent to medical treatment or to authorise medication; any person authorised to authorise an educator to take the child outside the premises; any person authorised to authorise transport. |
| 160(3)(c), (d) | Details of any court orders, parenting orders or parenting plans about powers, duties, responsibilities or access; and any other court orders about the child’s residence or contact with a parent or other person. |
| 160(3)(e)–(h) | Gender; language used at home; cultural background of the child and, if applicable, the parents; any special considerations such as cultural, religious or dietary requirements or additional needs. |
| 161 | An authorisation signed by a parent or a person named as authorised to consent to medical treatment, for the provider, nominated supervisor or an educator to seek medical treatment from a doctor, hospital or ambulance service and transport by ambulance; if relevant, a regulation 102 authorisation for regular outings; if relevant, a regulation 102D(4) authorisation for regular transport. |
| 162(a)–(g) | The child’s doctor or medical service with address and phone; Medicare number if available; specific health care needs including any medical condition; allergies including whether diagnosed at risk of anaphylaxis; any medical management plan, anaphylaxis plan or risk minimisation plan; dietary restrictions; immunisation status; a notation if a child health record has been sighted. |
| 162(h), (i) | New South Wales: immunisation or exemption certificates required under section 87 of the Public Health Act 2010 (NSW). Victoria: the immunisation documentation required for early childhood services under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic). |
The enrolment record is a prescribed document under regulation 177(1)(l): it must be accurate (r 177(2), $6,600), available to a parent on request subject to court orders and the consent of other people named in it (r 177(3) to (4C)), kept confidential (r 181) and stored for 3 years after the child last attended (r 183(2)(d)). Section 175 of the Law carries $13,500 for an individual and $68,700 otherwise for failing to keep prescribed documents available for inspection.
The Regulations prescribe the record; the NQS prescribes the relationship. Element 6.1.1 requires that families are supported from enrolment to be involved in the service and contribute to service decisions, and Element 6.1.3 that current information is available to families about the service and relevant community services. Regulation 91 requires the medical conditions policy to be given to the parent of any child with a specific health care need, allergy or medical condition, and regulation 157 gives parents a right to enter the premises at any time their child is there, subject to safety, a conflict with a duty under the Law, or a court order ($3,300). The orientation section of the policy should cover: pre-enrolment visits and settling-in, the information pack (philosophy, the regulation 168 policies and where to read them, fees, the complaints contact, the rating), collecting the enrolment record before the first day rather than on it, the medical plan process for children with conditions, how a child’s routines and culture are gathered and used in the program, and the first-weeks communication.
This policy says which authorisations the service requires, in what form, from whom, and when it will refuse to act on one. The authorisations the Regulations recognise are:
The refusal side matters as much: the service will not act on an authorisation given by a person not named in the enrolment record as having that authority, on a medication authorisation that does not match the label or the regulation 95 conditions, on an excursion authorisation missing a regulation 102(4) item, or where a court order on file conflicts with it. The policy should say how a refusal is communicated and recorded.
The fees policy must provide for a statement of fees charged. Regulation 172(2) requires parents to be notified at least 14 days before any change that will affect the fees charged or the way they are collected, with the exception in regulation 172(3) only for safety-related changes. The policy should cover the schedule of fees, the bond or deposit, the CCS arrangements and what the family must do to keep them, absences and public holidays, late collection charges, withdrawal notice, arrears, and the 14-day notice process. Fee statements are also a Commonwealth requirement under the family assistance law for CCS-approved services; the policy should say how often they issue.
Officers sample enrolment records against regulations 160 to 162, looking for missing nominees, unsigned medical authorisations, immunisation status not recorded, and medical management plans referenced but not attached. Under Standard 6.1 they ask families how they were oriented and whether they know where the policies are. A frequent finding is a complete digital enrolment form that has no field for court orders or for the person authorised to authorise excursions.
The enrolment record in regulation 160(3): the child’s name, date of birth and address; each parent, emergency contact, authorised nominee and person authorised to consent to medical treatment, excursions and transport; court orders and parenting plans; gender, home language, cultural background and special considerations; the regulation 161 authorisations (medical and ambulance, regular outings, regular transport); and the regulation 162 health information (doctor, Medicare number, conditions, allergies, plans, dietary restrictions, immunisation status).
Regulation 161(1)(a): a parent, or a person named in the enrolment record as authorised to consent to the medical treatment of the child. It authorises the provider, nominated supervisor or an educator to seek treatment from a doctor, hospital or ambulance service and transport by ambulance.
At least 14 days before making any change that will affect the fees charged or the way they are collected (regulation 172(2)). The only exception, in regulation 172(3), is where the notice period would pose a risk to a child’s safety, health or wellbeing.
Yes, regulation 162(f) requires the child’s immunisation status in the enrolment record. In New South Wales the record must also hold the immunisation or exemption certificates required by section 87 of the Public Health Act 2010 (r 162(h)), and in Victoria the documentation required under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (r 162(i)).
Regulation 157 gives a parent the right to enter at any time their child is being educated and cared for, except where entry would pose a risk to the safety of children and staff, conflict with a duty under the Law, or where the provider reasonably believes it would contravene a court order (r 157(4)). Penalty for wrongly refusing: $3,300.
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.
14-day free trial, no card →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.