Regulation 183 sets how long a childcare service keeps records: until the child turns 25 for any record of an incident, illness, injury or trauma suffered by a child in care (or that may have followed an incident in care); 7 years after a death; 3 years after the child last attended for every other record about a child (enrolment, attendance, medication, authorisations); 3 years after they left for records about the provider, a nominated supervisor or a staff member; and 3 years from making for anything else. Records must be stored in a safe and secure place (penalty $6,600). Services approved for the Child Care Subsidy also keep CCS records for 7 years under the family assistance law, which is why “3 or 7 years” is the common confusion: both are right, for different records.
This page gives the retention periods as a table, the full list of prescribed records in regulation 177 with the regulation that sets each one’s content, the attendance and medication record rules that are most often got wrong, the confidentiality and access rules, and what happens to records when a service is sold.
| Provision | Record | Keep until |
|---|---|---|
| 183(2)(a) | A record relating to an incident, illness, injury or trauma suffered by a child while being educated and cared for | The child is aged 25 years |
| 183(2)(b) | A record relating to an incident, illness, injury or trauma that may have occurred following an incident while in care | The child is aged 25 years |
| 183(2)(c) | A record relating to the death of a child while in care, or that may have resulted from an incident while in care | The end of 7 years after the death |
| 183(2)(d) | Any other record relating to a child enrolled at the service (enrolment record, attendance, medication record, authorisations, learning documentation) | The end of 3 years after the last date the child was educated and cared for by the service |
| 183(2)(e) | A record relating to the approved provider | The end of 3 years after the provider last operated the service |
| 183(2)(f) | A record relating to a nominated supervisor or staff member (the staff record, qualification evidence, training records) | The end of 3 years after the last date they provided education and care for the service |
| 183(2)(g) | Any other record | The end of 3 years after the record was made |
| r 179B | A section 175J written authorisation for a personal device | 3 years |
| Family assistance law | Records supporting Child Care Subsidy claims (attendance, enrolment, fees, statements) | 7 years, under the Commonwealth family assistance law for CCS-approved providers |
Regulation 183(1) requires the records in regulation 177 to be stored in a safe and secure place for these periods; penalty $6,600 and a compliance direction may be issued. The periods are minimums. Where a record falls into two categories, the longer period applies: a medication record entry made on the day of a seizure is both a medication record (3 years) and part of the record of a serious illness (age 25).
Section 175 of the Law requires the prescribed documents to be kept available for inspection by an authorised officer; penalty $13,500 for an individual and $68,700 otherwise. Regulation 177 lists them:
| Provision | Record | Content set by |
|---|---|---|
| 177(1)(a) | Documentation of child assessments or evaluations for the educational program | r 74 |
| 177(1)(b) | Incident, injury, trauma and illness record | r 87 (see the incident report guide) |
| 177(1)(c) | Medication record | r 92 (below) |
| 177(1)(d) | Record of assessments of family day care residences and venues | r 116 |
| 177(1)(e) | Staff record (centre-based) | r 145 to 149: nominated supervisors, staff members, educational leader, volunteers |
| 177(1)(f) | Record of volunteers and students | r 149 |
| 177(1)(g) | Record of the responsible person at the service | r 150 |
| 177(1)(h) | Record of educators working directly with children (centre-based) | r 151 |
| 177(1)(i) | Record of access to early childhood teachers | r 152 |
| 177(1)(j) | Record of staff engaged by a family day care service | r 154 |
| 177(1)(k) | Children’s attendance record | r 158 (below) |
| 177(1)(l) | Child enrolment records | r 160 to 162 (see the enrolment policy) |
| 177(1)(m) | Record of the service’s compliance with the Law | r 167 |
| 177(1)(n) | Record of each nominated supervisor and person in day-to-day charge | s 162 |
| 177(1)(o), (p) | Records of children embarking and disembarking service transport (centre-based) | r 102E(4)(c), r 102F(4)(d) |
Other records the Regulations require outside this list include the child safety training record for persons with management or control (r 179AA), evidence of insurance (r 180), risk assessments for excursions, sleep, transport and safe arrival (r 101, 84C, 102B, 102AAC), the emergency and evacuation rehearsal record (r 97), and the complaints register the complaints policy creates. Regulation 177(2) requires the prescribed documents to be accurate (penalty $6,600).
The attendance record must record the full name of each child attending, the date and time each child arrives and departs, and be signed at the time of arrival and departure by the person delivering or collecting the child or by a nominated supervisor or educator (r 158(1)). A preschool program provided by a school may keep attendance under the education law instead (r 158(2)). In family day care the educator signs if the person delivering the child’s signature cannot reasonably be obtained (r 159). The record is kept for 3 years after the child last attended under regulation 183(2)(d), and for 7 years under the family assistance law where it supports a CCS claim. It is also the evidence the service relies on to show the educator to child ratio was met at any time, read with the regulation 151 record of educators working directly with children.
A medication record is kept for each child to whom medication is or is to be administered (r 92(1); the family day care educator keeps it under r 92(2)). It must contain: the child’s name; the authorisation to administer (including self-administration if applicable) signed by a parent or a person named in the enrolment record as authorised; the name of the medication; the time and date it was last administered; the time and date, or circumstances, for the next dose; the dosage; the manner of administration; and, when it is given, the dosage administered, the manner, the time and date, the name and signature of the person who administered it, and the name and signature of the person who checked the dosage and the child’s identity under regulation 95 (required except in family day care and services permitted to have only one educator). Retention: 3 years after the child last attended, or to age 25 if the entry forms part of the record of an illness.
A workable retention schedule has four shelves. Shelf one, to age 25: every incident, injury, trauma and illness record, medication entries connected to an illness, and any notification to the regulatory authority about a child. Shelf two, 7 years: CCS records (attendance, enrolment, fee statements) and, if it ever applies, death records. Shelf three, 3 years after the child left: everything else about the child. Shelf four, 3 years after the person left or the record was made: staff and provider records, risk assessments, rehearsal records, the compliance record and policy versions. Digital systems need the same shelves and a destruction step; “we keep everything forever” fails regulation 181’s confidentiality intent and the Privacy Act where it applies, and “we delete after 3 years” fails regulation 183(2)(a).
Regulation 183(2): incident, illness, injury and trauma records until the child is 25; death records for 7 years; other records about a child for 3 years after the child last attended; records about the provider, nominated supervisors and staff for 3 years after they left; anything else for 3 years from when it was made. CCS-approved providers also keep records supporting subsidy claims for 7 years under the family assistance law.
Both, for different records. The National Regulations set 3 years for most child and staff records (regulation 183(2)(d) to (g)), to age 25 for incident-related records and 7 years for death records. The Commonwealth family assistance law separately requires CCS-approved providers to keep subsidy-related records (attendance, enrolment, fees) for 7 years. A service subject to both keeps attendance and enrolment records for 7 years.
Regulation 158(1): the full name of each child attending, the date and time each child arrives and departs, and a signature at the time of arrival and departure by the person delivering or collecting the child or by a nominated supervisor or educator. Kept 3 years after the child last attended (7 years for CCS).
Regulation 92(3): the child’s name; the signed authorisation; the medication; when it was last given; when or in what circumstances it is next due; the dose; the manner of administration; and on each administration the dose given, the manner, the time and date, the administering person’s name and signature, and the checking person’s name and signature where regulation 95 requires a second person.
Yes, on request under regulation 177(3)(a), unless a court order limits that parent’s access. Personal information about another parent, an emergency contact, a nominee or an authorising person is released only with that person’s written consent (r 177(4A)). Staff records are not available to parents (r 181(b)).
Regulation 184: on transfer of the service approval the outgoing provider transfers the records of currently enrolled children to the new provider on the transfer date, with a parent’s consent for each child. Records of former children remain with the outgoing provider for the regulation 183 period.
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.