Closing a service temporarily for an incident, such as a flood or fire, must be notified to the regulator within 24 hours (regulation 175(2)(b), r 176). A planned break of up to 12 months is a voluntary suspension (National Law s 85): give parents at least 14 days’ notice before you apply, and the regulator decides within 30 days. Closing permanently means surrendering the service approval by written notice (s 86), with at least 14 days’ notice to parents before the surrender takes effect. A change to operating hours or days is notified within 7 days. Records must still be kept for the regulation 183 periods after the service closes.
The notices and timeframes when a childcare service closes for a day, pauses for months, or shuts for good, and what happens to the records.
| Situation | Process | Notice to parents | Notice to the regulator |
|---|---|---|---|
| An incident forces the service to close, or to take fewer children, for a period (flood, fire, loss of power or water) | Notification under r 175(2)(b) | Not set by this regulation; tell families straight away | Within 24 hours (r 176(2)(b)) |
| Permanent change to opening hours or days | Notification under r 175(2)(a) | Fee or significant policy changes need 14 days (r 172) | Within 7 days (r 176(2)(c)) |
| Planned pause of up to 12 months | Voluntary suspension, s 85 | At least 14 days before applying | Written application with the regulation 40 details; decided within 30 days |
| Permanent closure | Surrender of service approval, s 86 | At least 14 days before the surrender date | Written notice naming the surrender date |
| Selling instead of closing | Transfer of service approval, s 59 | See the transfer guide | Notice of intended transfer |
Regulation 175(2)(b) requires notice of any incident that makes the approved provider close the service, or reduce the number of children attending, for a period. The regulation gives a flood or fire that closes the premises, or part of them, during repairs as an example. It must be in writing within 24 hours of the incident, and is usually lodged through the NQA IT System. If the event is also a serious incident (for example, emergency services attended) it is notified as one; see serious incident notification. Separately, regulation 175(2)(c) requires notice of any circumstance at the service that poses a risk to children’s health, safety or wellbeing.
Have the emergency and evacuation procedures in place before it happens. They should say who decides to close, how parents are contacted, and how children are handed over safely.
Separately, if a service approved more than 6 months ago has still not started operating (or has not started within a time agreed with the regulator), the provider must notify the regulator (s 173(1)(c)). Not starting within 6 months is also a ground for the regulator to suspend the approval (s 70(1)(h)).
If the provider itself is in financial trouble, the appointment of receivers, liquidators or administrators, or anything else that affects the service’s financial viability and continued operation, must be notified within 7 days (r 175(1)(b), r 176(1)).
If the regulator suspends or cancels an approval as a compliance action, it can require the provider to give parents written notice of the suspension or cancellation and its effect. Failing to do so carries a maximum penalty of $10,200 for an individual or $51,600 otherwise (s 84). See compliance notices and enforcement.
Closing the service does not end the duty to keep records for the periods in regulation 183:
If the service is transferred rather than closed, records for children currently enrolled pass to the new provider on the transfer date, but only with a parent’s consent (r 184). See record retention periods. The Child Care Subsidy has its own notice and record rules; see CCS provider obligations.
To close permanently, an approved provider surrenders the service approval and must notify parents at least 14 days before the surrender takes effect (National Law s 86(3)). For a voluntary suspension, parents must be told at least 14 days before the application is made (s 85(4)).
If an incident requires the service to close or reduce the number of children for a period, yes: within 24 hours under regulations 175(2)(b) and 176(2)(b).
Up to 12 months under section 85 of the National Law. The regulator must decide within 30 days of the application.
They must still be kept for the regulation 183 periods. Child incident records are kept until the child turns 25, and most other records for 3 years.
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.
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