The excursion policy is required by regulation 168(2)(g) and its procedures must comply with regulations 100 to 102: a risk assessment before authorisation is sought (r 100, penalty $6,600), with the content in r 101, and a written authorisation from a parent or a person named in the enrolment record with the content in r 102(4) (penalty $3,300). For a regular outing, the risk assessment lasts 12 months (r 100(4)) and the authorisation is needed once in 12 months (r 102(5)). There is no separate excursion ratio: regulation 123 applies off the premises and the risk assessment must decide whether more educators or adults with specialised skills are needed (r 101(2)(f)).
This page covers the definitions of excursion and regular outing, the risk assessment and authorisation requirements in full, how educator numbers are set for an outing, the water hazard rule, the personal device exception on excursions, and a contents checklist.
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)(g) excursions, including procedures complying with regulations 100 to 102.
Excursion (regulation 4) means an outing organised by the service or a family day care educator, but not an outing organised by a service on a school site if the children leave the service premises with an educator and do not leave the school site. Regular outing means a walk, drive or trip to and from a destination the service visits regularly as part of its educational program, where the circumstances relevant to the risk assessment are substantially the same on each outing.
| Provision | What it requires | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| r 99(4)(c) | A child may leave the premises if taken on an excursion in accordance with Division 6. | $6,600 |
| r 100(1)–(3) | The provider, nominated supervisor and family day care educator must each ensure a risk assessment under r 101 is carried out before the r 102(4) authorisation is sought. | $6,600 each |
| r 100(4) | No new risk assessment for a regular outing if one has been conducted for that outing not more than 12 months before. | Exception |
| r 101(1) | The risk assessment must identify and assess risks the excursion may pose to the safety, health or wellbeing of any child, and specify how they will be managed and minimised. | Content |
| r 101(2) | It must consider: the route and destination; water hazards; risks of water-based activities; if transporting, the means of transport, seatbelt or restraint requirements in each jurisdiction, entry and exit processes at the premises and the destination, and embarking and disembarking procedures including how each child is accounted for; the number of adults and children; the number of educators or other responsible adults appropriate for supervision given the risks and whether adults with specialised skills (for example life-saving) are required; the activities; the duration; and the items to take (for example a mobile phone and emergency contacts). | Content |
| r 102(1)–(3) | A child must not be taken on an excursion without written authorisation under r 102(4). | $3,300 each |
| r 102(4) | The authorisation must be given by a parent or a person named in the enrolment record as authorised, and must state: the child’s name; the reason; for a regular outing, when the child will be taken; otherwise the date; the destination; if transporting, the means of transport and restraint requirements; the activities; the period away; the anticipated number of children; the anticipated ratio of educators to children; the anticipated number of staff and other adults accompanying and supervising; and that a risk assessment has been prepared and is available at the service. | Content |
| r 102(5) | For a regular outing the authorisation is only required once in a 12-month period. | Exception |
| r 161(1)(b) | A regular outing authorisation is kept in the child’s enrolment record. | Record |
| r 122, r 123 | Only educators working directly with children count, and the ratios apply whenever children are being educated and cared for, including off the premises. | s 169: $34,200 individual, $172,000 otherwise |
| s 165 Law | Adequate supervision at all times. | $34,200 / $172,200 |
| s 175H(3)(a)(ii) Law | A personal device may be carried on an excursion where its possession is necessary for safety or the provision of education and care, without a written authorisation. | Exception to the personal device offences |
Services ask for a number and the Regulations deliberately do not give one. Three rules combine. First, regulation 123 sets the floor: the same ratio as in the room applies on the footpath. Second, regulation 101(2)(f) requires the risk assessment to set the number of educators or other responsible adults that is appropriate given the risks, and whether adults with specialised skills are needed, so a water-based excursion or a busy road ordinarily produces a higher number than the regulation 123 minimum. Third, regulation 102(4)(i) and (j) require the authorisation to tell parents the anticipated ratio and the number of staff and other adults, so the number the risk assessment sets is the number the service has committed to. Parent volunteers and students count as “other responsible adults” for supervision in the risk assessment but not as educators for regulation 123.
Excursions are assessed under Element 2.2.1 (supervision) and Element 2.2.2 (incident and emergency management). Officers ask for the most recent excursion’s risk assessment and authorisations and check them against regulations 101(2) and 102(4) item by item. For regular outings they check the date of the current risk assessment and whether the authorisation is within 12 months. A frequent finding is a well-written risk assessment attached to an authorisation form that omits the ratio and adult numbers in regulation 102(4)(i) and (j).
No. Regulation 123 applies wherever children are being educated and cared for, so the room ratio is the minimum off site. Regulation 101(2)(f) requires the excursion risk assessment to set the number of educators or other responsible adults appropriate to the risks, and regulation 102(4)(i) requires the authorisation to tell parents the anticipated ratio. In practice the risk assessment usually sets a higher number than the regulation 123 minimum.
Regulation 100(4): no new risk assessment is needed for a regular outing if one was conducted for that outing not more than 12 months earlier. Regulation 102(5): the authorisation is only required once in a 12-month period. The outing must be to a destination visited regularly as part of the program where the circumstances relevant to risk are substantially the same each time.
Regulation 102(4): the child’s name; the reason; when (for a regular outing) or the date; the destination; the means of transport and restraint requirements if transporting; the activities; the period away; the anticipated number of children; the anticipated educator to child ratio; the anticipated number of staff and other adults supervising; and that a risk assessment has been prepared and is available at the service. It must be given by a parent or a person named in the enrolment record as authorised.
Not if the service is provided on a school site, the children leave the service premises in the company of an educator and do not leave the school site: that outing is excluded from the definition of excursion in regulation 4. Supervision under section 165 and the service’s own risk management still apply.
Yes, where possession of the personal device is necessary for safety or the provision of education and care during the excursion (section 175H(3)(a)(ii) and the equivalent exceptions for individuals). Images of children must still be captured only on a service-supplied device under section 175D.
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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.