From 1 January 2026, the National Quality Standard was refined to make child safety explicit in two quality areas. In Quality Area 2, Element 2.2.3 was renamed “Child safety and protection” and now refers to staff knowing their roles and responsibilities regarding child safety. In Quality Area 7, the quality area statement, Standard 7.1 and Element 7.1.2 now describe a quality service “that is child safe”. The structure is unchanged: still 7 quality areas, 15 standards and 40 elements.
This page shows exactly what changed in the NQS wording, what it means for assessment and rating, and what to update in your service.
In December 2023, ACECQA published its Review of Child Safety Arrangements under the National Quality Framework. Education Ministers then agreed to a package of changes. Changes to the Regulations started on 1 September 2025, and the NQS refinements started on 1 January 2026. According to ACECQA, the refinements sharpen the existing intent of the NQS, that a quality service is a child safe service, rather than adding new elements. The wider reform package is covered in the 2025 to 2026 child safety reforms.
| From 1 January 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Concept | Child safety and protection (previously “Child protection”) |
| Descriptor | Management, educators and staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities regarding child safety, including the need to identify and respond to every child at risk of abuse or neglect. |
The duty to identify and respond to children at risk stays. What is new is that the element now covers child safety generally: preventing harm, not only responding to it. Expect assessors to ask how staff understand their child safety role in day-to-day practice, for example supervision, device use and recognising and reporting inappropriate conduct, as well as mandatory reporting.
| Part | From 1 January 2026 (addition in bold) |
|---|---|
| Quality area statement | Well documented policies and practices … contribute to the ethical management of a quality service that is child safe. |
| Standard 7.1 Governance | Governance supports the operation of a quality service that is child safe. |
| Element 7.1.2 Management systems | Systems are in place to manage risk and enable the effective management and operation of a quality service that is child safe. |
This puts child safety at the level of governance, the approved provider and management, not only educators. Risk registers, recruitment and screening, incident systems and policy review are all evidence for Element 7.1.2.
From 1 January 2026, Element 2.2.3 was renamed Child safety and protection and now refers to roles and responsibilities regarding child safety, and the Quality Area 7 statement, Standard 7.1 and Element 7.1.2 now refer to a quality service that is child safe. The number of quality areas, standards and elements did not change.
Element 2.2.3, Child safety and protection: management, educators and staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities regarding child safety, including the need to identify and respond to every child at risk of abuse or neglect.
No. The NQS still has 7 quality areas, 15 standards and 40 elements. The 2026 refinements changed wording in Quality Areas 2 and 7.
1 January 2026, as part of the child safety reforms agreed by Education Ministers after ACECQA's 2023 Review of Child Safety Arrangements.
The QIP is a self-assessment against the NQS, so the Element 2.2.3 and Standard 7.1 entries should reflect the current wording and the service's child safety practice.
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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