The National Regulations require six specific risk assessments: for every excursion (regulations 100 and 101; a regular outing needs one every 12 months), for transport the service provides or arranges (regulations 102B and 102C), for the safe arrival of children travelling between services (regulation 102AAC, at least every 12 months), for sleep and rest (regulation 84C, at least every 12 months), for emergencies when preparing the emergency and evacuation procedures (regulation 97(2), reviewed at least every 12 months), and for each family day care residence or venue (regulation 116, before use and annually). Each must identify and assess the risks and specify how they will be managed and minimised, and most carry a $6,600 penalty. Beyond those, Element 7.1.2 requires systems to manage risk generally, the child safe environment policy under regulation 168(2)(h) is built on risk, and work health and safety law applies to the workplace.
Risk assessment in a childcare service is partly a legal form and partly a habit. The form is the six regulated assessments, which have prescribed content and review periods and are the first thing an authorised officer asks for after an incident. The habit is the risk management that Quality Areas 2, 3 and 7 assess: identifying hazards as the service changes and recording what was done about them. This page sets out both, with the prescribed content for each regulated assessment and a structure that works for all of them.
| Risk assessment | Provision | When | Must consider |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excursion | r 100, r 101 | Before authorisation is sought for each excursion; for a regular outing, one assessment within the previous 12 months (r 100(4)) | Route and destination; water hazards and water-based activities; if transporting, the means of transport, seatbelt and restraint requirements, entering and exiting the premises and the destination, embarking and disembarking and how each child is accounted for; the number of adults and children; the number of educators or other adults needed for supervision and whether specialised skills (for example life-saving) are needed; the activities; the duration; the items to take (r 101(2)). |
| Transport (other than as part of an excursion) | r 102B, r 102C | Before authorisation under r 102D; regular transportation, one assessment within 12 months | Route and duration; pick-up location and destination; means of transport; seatbelt and restraint requirements; water hazards; number of adults and children; educators needed and specialised skills; items to have available; entering and exiting; embarking and disembarking and accounting for each child (r 102C(2)). |
| Safe arrival of children travelling between the service and another education or early childhood service | r 102AAC | At least every 12 months and after any circumstance affecting safe arrival | The child’s age, developmental stage and needs; the roles of each service’s nominated supervisor, the parent and authorised nominees; and the matters in r 102AAC(4) about the travel itself. |
| Sleep and rest | r 84C | At least every 12 months and after any circumstance affecting children’s safety during sleep | Number, ages and developmental stages of children; individual sleep needs, health needs, cultural preferences and family requests; suitability of staffing to supervise and monitor; staff knowledge and training; location and arrangement of sleep areas and of cots and beds; and the further matters in r 84C(2). The policy under r 84B must then address how children are protected from the risks identified. |
| Emergency | r 97(2), (2A), (2B) | When preparing the emergency and evacuation procedures; centre-based services review at least every 12 months and after any circumstance affecting safe evacuation, then update the procedures | Potential emergencies relevant to the service: fire, bushfire, flood, storm, medical emergency, lockdown or intruder, utility failure, missing child, hazardous spill; evacuation routes and assembly areas; non-ambulatory children; staff roles. Rehearsed every 3 months (r 97(3)). |
| Family day care residence or venue | r 116 | Before education and care is provided there and at least annually | The matters in r 116(2) about the premises, hazards, pets, water, and the people present. |
Source: Education and Care Services National Regulations, reprint current as at 12 August 2026. Regulations 100, 102B, 84C, 97(2) and 116 each carry a penalty of $6,600, and a compliance direction may be issued.
The Regulations prescribe content, not a form. One layout serves every assessment if it carries these columns, with the regulation’s own list of matters as the first column for the regulated ones:
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Activity or matter | For a regulated assessment, each matter the regulation requires (for an excursion, the r 101(2)(a) to (i) list); otherwise the activity, space or process. |
| Hazard | What could cause harm: the water, the road, the gate, the cot arrangement, the stranger at pick-up. |
| Who is at risk and how | Which children or adults, and the harm. |
| Likelihood and consequence | A simple scale (rare to almost certain; minor to catastrophic) that gives a risk rating before controls. |
| Controls | What will be done to manage and minimise the risk: the regulation 101(1)(b) requirement in words. Elimination first, then substitution, engineering, administration and supervision. |
| Residual rating | Risk after controls, and whether the activity proceeds. |
| Who and when | The person responsible for each control and when it is in place. |
| Approval and review | Approved by the nominated supervisor or approved provider with a date; the review date (12 months for the regulated annual ones, sooner after any incident or change); the review record. |
Attach the authorisation where one is required (regulation 102(4) for excursions, 102D(4) for transport), keep the assessment with the record of the activity, and keep it for the retention period in regulation 183.
Excursions (regulations 100 and 101), transport the service provides or arranges (102B and 102C), safe arrival of children travelling between services (102AAC), sleep and rest (84C), emergencies when preparing the emergency and evacuation procedures (97(2)), and each family day care residence or venue (116). Each must identify and assess the risks and specify how they will be managed and minimised.
Sleep and rest (84C), safe arrival (102AAC) and the emergency risk assessment at a centre-based service (97(2A)) at least every 12 months and as soon as practicable after any relevant change. A regular outing or regular transportation assessment is valid for 12 months (100(4), 102B(4)). Family day care residences are assessed before use and at least annually (116). Any assessment should be reviewed after an incident it should have anticipated.
Under regulation 101(2): the route and destination; water hazards and water-based activities; for transport, the means, seatbelt and restraint requirements, entering and exiting the premises and 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 adults needed and any specialised skills; the activities; the duration; and the items to be taken. It must be done before the regulation 102 authorisation is sought.
No. The Regulations prescribe what must be considered and the outcome (risks identified and assessed, and how they will be managed and minimised). Any layout that carries those matters, the controls, who is responsible and the review date meets the requirement. ACECQA and the state regulators publish sample templates.
Regulations 100, 102B, 84C, 97(2) and 116 each carry a penalty of $6,600, and a compliance direction may be issued. The larger consequence follows an incident: the absence of the assessment is the first finding in an investigation and goes to the section 167 duty to take every reasonable precaution.
For example: a weekly walk to the park with transport by bus. WIDEN Law answers with regulations 100 to 102D cited.
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.