If you are considering operating a business that will interact with or provide services for children, you must understand the rules that apply to you and your staff. Children are vulnerable people. Consequently, several legal protections are in place to ensure their safety. Education and care services are heavily regulated in Australia. This article will provide an overview of the regulatory frameworks you should consider before starting your business.
Education and Care Services National Law
In 2009, the Federal Government introduced the National Quality Framework (NQF). This led to the introduction of the following:
- Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) to regulate and implement the child care reforms;
- National Quality Standard (NQS) for childcare and education services; and
- an overarching national legal framework, Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 (National Law) and the Education and Care Services National Regulations.
Most Australian states have adopted the National Law, except for Western Australia.
The focus of this legislation is on childcare businesses. The primary purpose of this legal reform was to ensure the safety, health and well-being of children attending education and care services. The legislation defines these services as any service providing or intended to provide education and care regularly to children under 13 years of age. In some states, this definition has been extended to capture those over 13.
It is important to note that it is an offence under the National Law to provide education and care services without approval from state regulators. In NSW, for example, these are the Early Childhood Education Directorate and the Department of Education. You may be required to register as a service provider and register your services. The best way to determine whether the National Law will apply to you or your business is to contact your state regulator or seek legal advice.
Working with Children Checks
As a general rule, it is compulsory for all individuals who work in roles that deliver services to children to obtain a WWCC certificate. For example, in NSW, workers who provide ‘child-related services’ must not engage in this work unless they have a WWCC. ‘Child-related services’ include, but are not limited to, the following:
- children’s health services;
- clubs or other bodies providing services for children;
- disability services;
- education and child care services;
- entertainment for children;
- religious services; and
- counselling/mentoring/education that does not involve direct contact.
These categories are expansive and designed to capture a broad range of professions and service providers that work with children to ensure their safety. Even if your business does not fall into these categories, if you have regular, direct, face-to-face contact with children, you and your staff or volunteers will likely need a WWCC.
Each state and territory have its own set of processes to obtain a WWCC. You can find this information on the Australian National Character Check website. In most cases, you will need to provide a police check.
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Mandatory Reporting Obligations
Mandatory reporting obligations and legislation have been implemented in each state to ensure that child abuse or neglect cases can be easily identified and actioned. The legislative regimes target specific groups of people who work or interact with children and place obligations on them to report child abuse. Each state and territory focus on different classes of people or professions when creating these obligations.
Generally, each state legislation lists specific professions who are mandatory reporters. The occupations most commonly named as mandated reporters are those who frequently deal with children in their work as:
- teachers;
- early childhood education and care practitioners;
- doctors;
- nurses; or
- police officers.
However, in the Northern Territory, all adults are mandatory reporters.
Key Takeaways
In summary, children are vulnerable people. Accordingly, several protective measures are in place to protect them. For example, if you operate a childcare, tutoring or education service, you may need a WWCC. As a matter of best practice, if you work directly with children, you should obtain a WWCC. As with any business decision, you must seek professional advice on your obligations and concerns.
If you plan to launch a business involving interacting with children, our experienced regulatory lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Generally, mandatory reporters include teachers, early childhood education and care practitioners, doctors, nurses and police.
Child-related services include, but are not limited to:
- children’s health services;
- clubs or other bodies providing services for children;
- disability services;
- education and child care services;
- entertainment for children;
- religious services; and
- counselling/mentoring/education that does not involve direct contact.
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