Transport risk assessment checklist

Last reviewed: 11 November 2026. Items taken from regulations 102B, 102C and 102D of the Education and Care Services National Regulations, checked against the text on 11 November 2026. The checklist runs in your browser and stores your answers only on this device. General information, not legal advice.

Quick answer

Before a service transports a child, or arranges transport, it needs two things. The first is a risk assessment under regulation 102C, done before the parent’s authorisation is sought (regulation 102B). It must cover the route, the pick-up point and destination, the vehicle, seatbelts and restraints, water hazards, numbers of adults and children, supervision, items to carry, entering and exiting, and how each child is counted on and off. The second is a written authorisation from a parent or authorised person that states 12 matters (regulation 102D). For regular transportation, both are needed only once in 12 months. This checklist covers every item.

A free checklist of every item in regulations 102B to 102D, to check a transport risk assessment and the parent authorisation before a child is transported.

Transport risk assessment and authorisation checklist

Service or excursion name (optional)

Date

Ticked the list? Now check the document itself

In the 14-day free trial you can upload your transport risk assessment or transport policy and get a gap analysis against the Regulations, with a citation for each point. No card needed. It is a research aid: the decisions stay with you.

Start the 14-day free trial, no card →

Points that catch services out

Order matters: the risk assessment must be done before the authorisation is sought (r 102B), because the authorisation must state that a risk assessment is available (r 102D(4)(k)).
Who is responsible: the approved provider, the nominated supervisor and, in family day care, the educator each carry the obligations. The maximum penalty is $6,600 for a missing risk assessment and $3,300 for transporting without authorisation.
Excursions: an excursion has its own risk assessment and authorisation rules. Use the excursion risk assessment checklist.

The full guide is transporting children.

Frequently asked questions

Does childcare need parent permission to transport a child?

Yes. A child must not be transported by the service, or on transport it arranges, without written authorisation from a parent or a person named in the enrolment record as authorised to give it (regulation 102D).

What must a childcare transport risk assessment include?

Regulation 102C requires it to identify the risks and how they will be managed, and to consider the route and duration, pick-up and destination, means of transport, seatbelt and restraint laws, water hazards, numbers of adults and children, supervision, items to carry, entering and exiting, and how each child is accounted for getting on and off.

How often is a transport authorisation needed for regular transport?

Once in a 12-month period for regular transportation (regulation 102D(5)). A new risk assessment is not needed if one was done for that regular transportation within the previous 12 months (regulation 102B(4)).

Ask the question in your own words

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. It is written in our own words from the sources linked on the page; confirm the position with your regulatory authority before relying on it for a compliance decision.