Section 162 of the National Law requires a responsible person to be present at all times a centre-based service is educating and caring for children: the approved provider (if an individual) or a person with management or control, a nominated supervisor, or a person in day-to-day charge. Penalty $17,100 for an individual, $86,100 otherwise. A person is in day-to-day charge only if placed in that role by the approved provider or a nominated supervisor and they consent in writing (regulation 117A); they must be at least 18 and the provider or nominated supervisor must have had regard to their compliance history and taken reasonable steps to ensure they have adequate knowledge of education and care and the ability to supervise and manage the service (regulation 117B). The name of the responsible person for every period children are in care goes in the staff record (regulation 150), and the name and position of the responsible person in charge at any given time must be displayed (regulation 173(2)(c)). Family day care services are exempt from section 162.
Responsible person is a status, not a job title: it describes whoever is lawfully in charge on the floor right now. Services get it wrong in two ways, by having nobody eligible on site (an early-morning or late-afternoon shift run by a room leader who was never placed in day-to-day charge) and by having no record of who it was. This page covers who is eligible, how a person in day-to-day charge is appointed, the record, the display, the policy, and the 2026 training that now attaches to the role.
| Eligible person | Basis | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The approved provider, if an individual | s 162(1)(a) | Sole-trader or partnership providers. |
| A person with management or control of the service | s 162(1)(a), s 5 | For a corporate provider: directors, owners, operations or area managers who manage the service. Subject to the fit and proper person provisions. |
| A nominated supervisor | s 162(1)(b) | Must meet regulation 117C and be notified to the regulatory authority. |
| A person in day-to-day charge | s 162(1)(c), r 117A, r 117B | Placed in the role by the approved provider or a nominated supervisor, with the person’s written consent. Not notified to the regulatory authority, but the consent and the regulation 117B assessment must be on file. |
A room leader, an educational leader or a second-in-charge is not a responsible person by virtue of that title. They become one only by being placed in day-to-day charge in writing.
117A Placing a person in day-to-day charge. A person is in day-to-day charge of an education and care service if (a) the person is placed in day-to-day charge by the approved provider or a nominated supervisor of the education and care service; and (b) the person consents to the placement in writing.
117B Minimum requirements for a person in day-to-day charge. (1) An approved provider or a nominated supervisor must not place a person in day-to-day charge unless (a) the person has attained the age of 18 years; and (b) the approved provider or nominated supervisor (i) has had regard to the person’s history of compliance with the education and care, children’s services and education laws of the participating jurisdictions, and any decision to refuse, suspend or cancel an approval or authorisation held by the person; and (ii) has taken reasonable steps to ensure that the person has adequate knowledge and understanding of the provision of education and care to children and an ability to effectively supervise and manage an education and care service.
Source: Education and Care Services National Regulations, reprint current as at 12 August 2026. A practical placement file contains: the signed consent; a note of the compliance-history check; the person’s qualifications and experience; the induction given on the Law, the Regulations and the service’s policies; the scope of the placement (which days, which hours, standing or one-off); and the 2026 training completions.
Section 162A of the Law and regulation 128B require the nominated supervisor, the person in day-to-day charge and other specified persons to complete the jurisdiction’s child protection training (published on the ACECQA website) before the earlier of 14 days after starting or first working directly with children. Section 162B and regulations 128D and 128E add foundation child safety training (same timetable, refreshed every 2 years) and, for the person with management or control, each nominated supervisor, each person in day-to-day charge and staff who work directly with children, advanced child safety training within 3 months of starting and every 2 years. People already in the role when the amendments commenced had until 27 August 2026 for the child protection and foundation training (regulations 417 and 418; Queensland, the ACT and Victoria have modified rules). Completion dates and expiry go in the staff record under regulations 146 and 147.
Section 162 is about presence. It does not itself transfer the nominated supervisor’s legal duties to a person in day-to-day charge: the Queensland regulator’s guidance, for example, states that appointing a person in day-to-day charge does not place additional legal responsibilities on that person under the Law, and the educator duties that already apply continue to apply. In practice the responsible person is the person who makes the decisions a regulator or assessor expects to be made on the spot: supervision arrangements, ratio cover, incident response, emergency management, who may collect a child, and whether to call the nominated supervisor or the approved provider. The service’s policy should say so, and the person should have been inducted to it.
Under section 162 of the National Law: the approved provider if an individual, or a person with management or control of the service; a nominated supervisor; or a person placed in day-to-day charge under regulation 117A with their written consent. One of them must be present at all times the service is educating and caring for children. Family day care services are exempt.
Regulation 117B: at least 18 years old; the approved provider or nominated supervisor has had regard to the person’s compliance history under the education and care, children’s services and education laws and any refusal, suspension or cancellation of an approval; and has taken reasonable steps to ensure the person has adequate knowledge of education and care and the ability to effectively supervise and manage the service. The person must consent in writing (regulation 117A).
Yes. Regulation 173(2)(c) prescribes the name and position of the responsible person in charge of the service at any given time as information to be displayed, under section 172 of the Law. It must be kept current through the day.
Regulation 150: the staff record must include the name of the responsible person at the centre-based service for each time that children are being educated and cared for. A dated, timed register or roster column that shows every handover meets this.
No course was prescribed before 2026. Since the 2026 amendments, section 162A and regulation 128B require the person in day-to-day charge to complete the jurisdiction’s child protection training, and regulations 128D and 128E require foundation child safety training and advanced child safety training, refreshed every 2 years. Completion and expiry dates go in the staff record under regulation 147.
No. A nominated supervisor is always eligible to be the responsible person, but the responsible person can also be the approved provider, a person with management or control, or a person in day-to-day charge. The nominated supervisor’s legal duties continue whether or not they are on site; the responsible person is whoever is lawfully present and in charge at the time.
Describe who is rostered at each end of the day. WIDEN Law answers against section 162 and regulations 117A, 117B, 150 and 173, 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.