A water safety policy is required by regulation 168(2)(a)(iii), “including safety during any water-based activities”. The Regulations contain no stand-alone water rule for centre premises; the duties come from the general offences, section 165 (adequate supervision, $34,200 for an individual and $172,200 otherwise) and section 167 (every reasonable precaution against harm and hazards, same penalties), from the excursion risk assessment, which must consider water hazards and water-based activities (regulation 101(2)(b), (c)), from the family day care residence assessment, which must consider water hazards, water features and swimming pools at or near the residence (regulation 116(2)(d)), and from state rules: no swimming pool on preschool-age centre premises in New South Wales unless it pre-dates 6 November 1996 (regulation 274), and none at all in Tasmania (regulation 345).
Drowning is silent and fast, and the hazards in a service are ordinary: a nappy bucket, a water trough, a paddling pool, a blocked drain after rain, a creek beside the park on a regular outing. This page sets out the provisions a water safety policy must comply with, the contents it needs, and what officers look for under Element 2.2.1.
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)(a) health and safety, including matters relating to— … (iii) water safety, including safety during any water-based activities;
| Provision | What it requires | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| s 165 Law | Children adequately supervised at all times they are in the service’s care. | $34,200 individual, $172,200 otherwise |
| s 167 Law | Every reasonable precaution to protect children from harm and from any hazard likely to cause injury. | $34,200 / $172,200 |
| r 103 | Premises, furniture and equipment safe, clean and in good repair. | $6,600 |
| r 104 | Outdoor space enclosed by a fence or barrier that children preschool age or under cannot go through, over or under (not required for services primarily for school-age children). | $6,600 |
| r 101(2)(b), (c) | An excursion risk assessment must consider any water hazards and any risks associated with water-based activities, and under (f) the number of educators or other adults appropriate to the risks and whether adults with specialised skills (the example given is life-saving) are required. | r 100: $6,600 |
| r 116(2)(d) | The family day care residence or venue assessment must consider the existence of any water hazards, water features or swimming pool at or near the residence or venue. | r 116(1), (1B): $6,600 |
| r 115 | Centre premises designed and maintained to facilitate supervision at all times, including bathrooms. | Compliance direction |
| r 274 (NSW) | No swimming pool on the premises of a centre-based service for children preschool age or under in New South Wales unless it existed before 6 November 1996 (school-based services: before 1 July 2008). | Condition |
| r 345 (TAS) | No swimming pool on education and care service premises in Tasmania. | Condition |
| r 12(b), (d) | A near-drowning that needs urgent medical attention or hospital, or an emergency for which emergency services attend, is a serious incident: notify within 24 hours. | s 174: $13,500 / $68,700 |
State pool fencing laws apply on top of the Regulations wherever a pool or spa exists at a premises, including a family day care residence: for example the Swimming Pools Act 1992 in New South Wales and the equivalent building and local government requirements in other states. The regulation 116 assessment is where a family day care service records compliance with them.
Water safety is assessed under Element 2.2.1 (supervision) and Element 3.1.2 (premises safe and well maintained). Officers walk the outdoor area and bathrooms looking for standing water, uncovered buckets and unsupervised water play, ask an educator how water play is supervised, and in family day care check the regulation 116 assessment for the water entry and any pool certificate. They read the excursion risk assessments for destinations with water. A policy that says “water play is supervised at all times” with no stated ratio or position is treated as thin.
Yes. Regulation 168(2)(a)(iii) requires policies and procedures on water safety, including safety during any water-based activities. Penalty for not having the regulation 168 policies: $3,300, with a compliance direction available.
The National Regulations have no general prohibition, but New South Wales prohibits a pool on the premises of a centre-based service for children preschool age or under unless it existed before 6 November 1996 (regulation 274), and Tasmania prohibits pools on all service premises (regulation 345). Elsewhere a pool must meet state pool fencing law and the service’s supervision duties under sections 165 and 167.
Regulation 123 sets the minimum for the group. The Regulations set no separate water ratio; the policy should. Most services require a dedicated educator for the water activity within arm’s reach of children under five, and the excursion risk assessment under regulation 101(2)(f) must set the educator number for any outing involving water.
Regulation 116(2)(d) requires the residence or venue assessment, conducted before use and at least annually, to consider any water hazards, water features or swimming pool at or near the residence. State pool fencing law applies to a pool at the residence.
Yes, where it involves serious injury or trauma for which a reasonable person would consider urgent medical attention was required or the child attended hospital (regulation 12(b)), or where emergency services attended (r 12(d)). Notify the regulatory authority within 24 hours (s 174(2)(a), r 176(2)(a)) and the parent within 24 hours under regulation 86.
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.