From Crisis to Reform: A New Era of Accountability in Early Learning

On 22 July 2025, the Government tabled the Early Childhood Education and Care (Strengthening Regulation of Early Education) Bill 2025 (the Bill).  In the face of growing public concern, the Bill is a major reform aimed at improving child safety and accountability in early learning environments. For childcare providers, this Bill signals a shift toward stricter enforcement, increased surveillance, and heightened regulatory scrutiny.

 

Key Proposed Changes

1. The “One-Strike” Rule

Under the proposed legislation, the Commonwealth regulator will have the power to immediately revoke a provider’s access to the Child Care Subsidy following a single “serious breach”. This is a significant departure from the current system, which typically involves multiple warnings or extended investigations. Serious breaches include:

• Incidents involving serious harm or risk to a child.
• Failure to report abuse or neglect within required timeframes.
• Operating without appropriate staff qualifications or ratios.
• Breaches of supervision obligations resulting in injury or endangerment.

 

The Commonwealth will assess a range of considerations including:

• The provider’s demonstrated commitment to high-quality education and care;
• Previous assessments conducted under the National Quality Standard;
• Notifications of serious incidents, or incidents that could have resulted in serious harm, including complaints of alleged serious incidents;
• Non-compliance with laws relating to child safety or service quality;
• Evidence of improvement efforts in response to prior concerns.

This rule is designed to act as a strong deterrent and reflects the Government’s prioritisation of child safety over provider leniency.

 

2. Unannounced Inspections and Monitoring

The powers of Federal compliance officers will be expanded, to include:

• Authorising to conduct unannounced inspections without prior notice or consent for the purpose of exercising monitoring powers. These inspections will focus on inspecting premises, reviewing records, and assessing compliance with safety and regulatory obligations.
• Sharing safety concerns with state regulators: If Commonwealth officers identify safety or quality issues during their inspections, they can refer these to state authorities for further action.

This marks a shift from state-led monitoring to a dual enforcement model, where both Commonwealth and state regulators have overlapping powers to ensure compliance and child safety. This expands the scope of oversight and means providers must maintain continuous compliance, not just prepare for scheduled audits.

 

3. National Educator Register

A new national register will track early childhood educators across all states and territories. It will integrate with Working with Children Check (WWCC) systems to:

• Prevent educators with prior misconduct from re-entering the sector in another state.
• Enable real-time alerts and cross-border coordination.

This measure is intended to address loopholes in the current system where disqualified individuals could continue working undetected.

 

State Reforms

 

Victoria – September 2025

Following serious allegations of child sexual abuse involving Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown, the Victorian Government has introduced urgent reforms to strengthen child protection measures in early learning environments. These include:

• A ban on personal mobile devices in all Victorian childcare centres, effective from 26 September 2025.
• Immediate financial support for families affected by the incident.
• Expansion of the educator registration system to include early childhood educators, with implementation expected within two months.
• In addition, a Rapid Review is underway, led by Jay Weatherill AO and Pam White PSM, with findings due by 15 August 2025. The review will identify immediate actions to improve child safety, including consideration of CCTV use, enhancements to the Working With Children Check framework, and improved information sharing between regulators and agencies.

 

New South Wales – May 2025

The NSW Government has announced a suite of immediate reforms aimed at placing child safety as of paramount importance. These include:

• The creation of a new independent regulatory body with expanded powers and direct accountability to the Minister for Education.
• A requirement for providers to notify families when they are subject to investigation for serious breaches of national law.
• Public access to safety and quality records for individual services, enabling families to make informed choices.
• A pilot program involving regulator-controlled CCTV installations in services where safety concerns have been identified.
• Advocacy for amendments to national legislation, including increased penalties for non-compliance.

 

Queensland – July 2026

• In response to the case of Ashley Paul Griffith—who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2024 for offences committed over several years in Brisbane childcare centres—the Queensland Government has fast tracked the rollout of its new reportable conduct scheme. The scheme will now apply to the ECEC sector from 1 July 2026.
• A broader review is also underway, led by the Child Death Review Board within the Queensland Family and Child Commission, examining how agencies responded to Griffith’s offending. Interim findings have recommended the establishment of a national reportable conduct scheme and a unified Working with Children Check system. The final report is set to be published in late 2025.

 

Surveillance and CCTV: What’s Expected?

While the Bill does not currently mandate CCTV installation across all centres, it strongly encourages use, particularly in high-risk or previously non-compliant services.  Surveillance may become a condition of continued operation for some providers.

 

Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations – 1 September 2025

Independent but relevant to the Bill, are the reforms to the Education and Care Services National Amendment Regulations 2025, made under the Education and Care Services National Law. These changes will take effect and apply to all approved providers in Australia from 1 September 2025. Most notably, are the changes around digital technology and surveillance.  The changes raise important practical considerations around CCTV implementation and use within early learning environments. Namely, the legal obligations, consent requirements, data handling, and compliance with privacy and surveillance laws. See our related article for more information: [CCTV, Consent and Compliance: Understanding the 1 September Changes to the NQF].

 

Key Takeaways:

Keep up to date with our bulletins as we monitor the progression of this Bill. In the meantime, we recommend that providers, centre owners and operators, nominated supervisors and educational leaders alike prioritise the following:

• Read our related article for more information on action required to address the key changes to the National Law and Regulations [CCTV, Consent and Compliance: Understanding the 1 September Changes to the NQF].
• Update your policies and procedures to ensure they are fit for production, including around:
  • Pre-employment and induction documentation;
  • Drugs and Alcohol;
  • Surveillance and CCTV use;
  • Incident reporting protocols;
  • Staff conduct and supervision standards;
  • Record keeping and management; and
  • Workplace documentation.
• Review your service’s compliance history.
• Seek advice from our team of professionals.

At Chamberlains, we understand the balancing act of running day-to-day operations while maintaining compliance with legal obligations. Our team of professionals can save you the headaches and provide you with tailored assistance so that you can focus on what matters most. Contact our Workplace Law Team on 02 6188 3634.

This article was prepared with the assistance of Isabella Turner and Emma Saunders.