children's services
Children’s Services is now known as Early Childhood Education and Care and operates within the Department of Education and Communities. Information is being updated and transferred to a new website.
In NSW, Community Services licenses, registers or grants approval to operate services for children from birth through to school age.
Early childhood services must provide a safe and appropriate care and educational environment for children and are governed by strict regulations. See more on children’s services regulations, licensing application forms.
These services, also called child care services or early childhood services include preschools, long day care, occasional care, mobile services, family day care, home-based care and child-minding in retail shopping centres.
Community Services also registers out of school hours care services, which include before and after school hours care and vacation care services.
People who work in children's services must meet the requirements of the Children's Services Regulation 2004 and in some cases must have an approved qualification. See more on qualifications for working in children’s services.
As a children’s services worker, you have a legal obligation to report suspected child abuse or risk of harm. See more information on mandatory reporting.
additional funding available for qualified staff
The NSW Government will operate a non-recurrent Early childhood teacher (ECT) costs contribution scheme for one year only in 2011/12.
The amounts for the one-off payments are up to $6,000 for a three-year university qualified ECT, up to $8,000 for a four-year university qualified ECT, and an additional $1,000 per ECT for services in designated remote areas.
Eligible providers may apply the funds to support the following activities:
- offsetting the costs of employing ECT qualified staff
- recruitment and retention incentives
- investing in professional development including formal qualification upgrades, such as upgrading a three-year degree to a four-year degree.
The scheme is available to licensed providers of centre based and mobile children’s services that are approved under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 and employ a qualified ECT
Please see the terms and conditions for more information.
children’s services register
Information about licensed providers and approved children’s services and authorised supervisors is now available on a Public register.
To search the register follow these steps:
- Select children’s service as the licence type
- Enter your search criteria by using the name, or part of the name, of the licensee or service. The register cannot be searched by address of the service alone
- Read the terms of use and click on ‘I Agree’.
children's services newsletter - Building Blocks
For all the latest news in children's services, see the latest issue of Building Blocks:
what's new:
- review of children's services funding (DEC website)
- additional funds available for staffing - find out more
- Building Blocks newsletter: Autumn 2011
- amendments
to the Regulation commencing
1 January 2011 - licensing of mobile children's services
- information on licence fees
- report on children's services targeted compliance monitoring campaign