NSW childcare centres given two weeks to enact reforms, told phone ban to be enforced
Early childhood education and care centers in NSW will have two weeks to showcase their compliance and quality records under sweeping changes aimed at improving transparency and increasing penalties for non-compliance.
Also on Thursday morning, more than 6,000 providers will be notified of the imposition of the mobile phone ban and stiff new fines – $3420 on the spot for an individual, up to $51,600 for a large-scale provider.
It comes after the NSW government passed pioneering nationwide reforms to the state’s childcare systems, including a 900 per cent increase in maximum penalties for breaches against large providers with 25 or more centres.
From Thursday, centers will be told they have until November 20 to display their compliance history and quality rating at the centres, after which the NSW Regulatory Authority will consider formal compliance action.
Acting Education Minister Courtney Houssos said the reforms were the biggest for the sector in 15 years and that “the actions of a few bad operators cannot tarnish the hard work and dedication of thousands of educators”.
“We understand that parents want stronger protections and greater transparency in child care, which is exactly what these laws provide,” he said.
“Personal digital devices pose an unacceptable risk to children’s safety, which is why I took immediate action to strengthen the ban on full-day care, pre-school and before-and-after-school care services, and impose new requirements on family day care services.”
Personal devices will also be banned in family day care for the first time, as they are already banned in full-day care, kindergartens and before and after school care.
Prohibited devices; It includes all devices capable of capturing, storing or transmitting video, such as phones, tablets, computers, cameras, smartwatches and wearable devices such as glasses.
Family day care providers will only be able to use a service-issued or approved device to take photographs of children.
Reforms promise to increase transparency
Under the government’s reforms, centers must show a short-form compliance and quality history, including current and previous quality ratings, as well as whether there have been any serious breaches in the last two years.
The centers will also be required to display prosecutions in the event of a criminal complaint, finding of guilt or conviction.
Failure to comply with the new measures could result in a fine of $5,160 for a service or $15,480 for a large provider, and in the most serious cases, potential prosecution where the court could impose a very high fine of up to $154,800.
Australia’s National Quality Framework is set by the federal government in consultation with state and territory education ministers, who then legislate it into law.
The federal government, under pressure after several high-profile scandals of alleged abuse in child care centres, passed several reforms this year, including a phone ban, but has faced calls from states to do more.
A key sticking point for the NSW government has been the powers of the independent regulator, which an independent review by former NSW Deputy Ombudsman Chris Wheeler found was preempted by national legislation.
Under the reforms, the regulator will have the power to publish information about high-risk services, including details of existing investigations.
A parliamentary inquiry into the reforms in late September heard evidence from some of NSW’s largest not-for-profit childcare providers, calling on the state government to “take a leadership role” in the national dialogue.
The group, which includes KU Children’s Services, Goodstart Early Learning and more, called for the bill to be delayed for three months for further consultation.
