Regulation 155 requires the approved provider to take reasonable steps to ensure the service provides education and care in a way that (a) encourages children to express themselves and their opinions, (b) allows them to undertake experiences that develop self-reliance and self-esteem, (c) maintains at all times the dignity and rights of each child, (d) gives each child positive guidance and encouragement toward acceptable behaviour, and (e) has regard to the family and cultural values, age, and physical and intellectual development and abilities of each child. Regulation 156 adds the duty to give children opportunities to build respectful and positive relationships with each other and with staff, having regard to group size and composition. Both must be covered by the interactions with children policy required by regulation 168(2)(j), and both are assessed under Quality Area 5.
Regulation 155 is the legal basis for how educators speak to, guide and respect children. It sits beside section 166 of the National Law, which makes corporal punishment and unreasonable discipline an offence, and it is the provision an assessor has in mind when watching a transition, a meal or a conflict between children. This page gives the text, what each limb means in practice, the behaviour guidance boundary, and the evidence that shows compliance.
155 Interactions with children
An approved provider must take reasonable steps to ensure that the education and care service provides education and care to children in a way that (a) encourages the children to express themselves and their opinions; and (b) allows the children to undertake experiences that develop self-reliance and self-esteem; and (c) maintains at all times the dignity and rights of each child; and (d) gives each child positive guidance and encouragement toward acceptable behaviour; and (e) has regard to the family and cultural values, age, and physical and intellectual development and abilities of each child being educated and cared for by the service.
156 Relationships in groups
(1) The approved provider of an education and care service must take reasonable steps to ensure that the service provides children being educated and cared for by the service with opportunities to interact and develop respectful and positive relationships with each other and with staff members of, and volunteers at, the service. (2) For the purposes of subregulation (1), the approved provider must have regard to the size and the composition of the groups in which children are being educated and cared for by the service.
Source: Education and Care Services National Regulations, reprint current as at 12 August 2026. A compliance direction may be issued for failure to comply with regulation 156(1).
Regulation 155 describes the practice the service must take reasonable steps to provide. Section 166 of the Law describes the conduct that is an offence: the approved provider, the nominated supervisor and each staff member or volunteer must ensure that no child is subjected to any form of corporal punishment or any discipline that is unreasonable in the circumstances. The penalty (as adopted in the National Law from 1 January 2026) is $34,200 for an individual and $172,200 in any other case. Regulators treat isolating a child as punishment, withholding food, forcing a child to stay at a table or on a mat, and shouting at or humiliating a child as unreasonable discipline. Section 165 (adequate supervision) and section 167 (every reasonable precaution to protect children from harm and hazard) sit in the same Part.
| Limb | Practice assessors expect to see | NQS element |
|---|---|---|
| 155(a) | Children’s opinions are asked for and acted on: choices in play, routines and the program; children’s voices visible in documentation. | 1.2.3, 5.1.1 |
| 155(b) | Children do things for themselves at their own pace: serving food, dressing, packing away, solving problems, with educators scaffolding rather than taking over. | 1.2.2, 5.1.1, 5.2.1 |
| 155(c) | Routines done with the child, not to the child: warning before lifting, privacy at nappy change and toileting, no talking about a child in front of them, no shaming. | 5.1.2 |
| 155(d) | Behaviour is guided, not punished: co-regulation, redirection, naming feelings, consistent limits explained at the child’s level; individual plans for children who need them. | 5.2.2 |
| 155(e) | Interactions adjusted to the child: age, development, ability, family and cultural context; reasonable adjustments for children with disability. | 1.1.2, 6.1.2, 6.2.2 |
| 156 | Groupings and spaces that let children play together, help each other and form friendships, including across ages where safe. | 5.2.1 |
That the approved provider takes reasonable steps to ensure education and care is provided in a way that encourages children to express themselves and their opinions, develops self-reliance and self-esteem, maintains at all times the dignity and rights of each child, gives positive guidance and encouragement toward acceptable behaviour, and has regard to each child’s family and cultural values, age, development and abilities.
Isolating a child as a punishment is generally treated by regulators as inconsistent with regulation 155(c) and (d) and may be unreasonable discipline under section 166 of the National Law. Supporting a child to take a break in a space they choose, with an educator, is different and is commonly accepted practice.
Section 166 makes it an offence for the approved provider, nominated supervisor, staff member or volunteer to subject a child to any form of corporal punishment or any discipline that is unreasonable in the circumstances. As adopted from 1 January 2026 the penalty is $34,200 for an individual and $172,200 in any other case.
The interactions with children policy and procedures required by regulation 168(2)(j), which must include the matters in regulations 155 and 156. The staffing policy under regulation 168(2)(i) must also include a code of conduct for staff.
Under Quality Area 5 of the NQS, mainly by observation of interactions across the whole Assessment and Rating visit, supported by discussion with educators and a check that the interactions policy, individual behaviour plans and practice match. Elements 5.1.1, 5.1.2 and 5.2.2 are the usual findings.
Describe what happened and how educators responded. WIDEN Law answers against regulations 155 and 156, section 166 and the Quality Area 5 guidance, with the source 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.