review of the regulation
In October 2008, the NSW Government announced a review of the Children’s Services Regulation 2004 as part of the Government’s commitment to strengthen and improve outcomes for children in NSW.
National Quality Framework
At the December 2009 meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), the Commonwealth and all State and Territory Governments agreed to a National Quality Framework (NQF) for early childhood education and care.
This landmark agreement will establish a jointly governed, unified national approach to early childhood education and care that will apply to long day care, preschools, family day care and outside school hours care from 1 January 2012.
Other services, such as mobile children’s services and occasional care services, will initially be outside the scope of the NQF.
NSW Regulation review
Many of the objectives of the NSW review will now be achieved nationally through the COAG reforms.
In light of COAG’s decision, the NSW Government has decided to extend the life of the current NSW Regulation until the end of 2011.
The NSW Government has made selected amendments to the existing Regulation which apply from 1 January 2011.
These amendments include the introduction of a 1:4 ratio for children aged under two years, which the NSW Government announced in October 2008, to improve the standard of care for babies and toddlers.
This approach allows some improvements to be made to the current Regulation, whilst also minimising disruption to the industry at a time when both the industry and Governments’ primary focus will be on the transition to the NQF.
Consultation with an industry reference group established to assist the Regulation review has helped identify the range of amendments to the Regulation that will proceed ahead of the NQF.
consultation
Consultation with an industry reference group established to assist the Regulation review helped identify the range of amendments to the Regulation that would proceed ahead of the NQF.
Community Services released a draft Children’s Services Amendment Regulation 2010 and its accompanying draft Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) for public consultation in October 2010.
The Children’s Services Amendment Regulation 2010 and RIS have now been finalised. A number of the proposed changes in the draft amending Regulation have been revised in response to feedback provided to Community Services during public consultation.
what are the main changes?
Key changes include:
- Simplifying and streamlining the licensing model by:
- removing the requirement to for a person to advertise their intention to apply for a new licence.
- establishing a master licence for each provider and separate approvals for services and authorised supervisors.
- enabling all licences and approvals to be issued without a fixed term.
- Strengthening the Regulation to ensure the safety, welfare and wellbeing of children in children’s services by:
- broadening the probity assessments of licensees to ensure that there is no history of contravention of child-related legislation
- creating a requirement that services undertake risk assessments prior to going on an excursion.
- Increasing the ratio of staff to children for children under two years to 1:4 in centre based and mobile services.
- Increasing operational flexibility in relation to the number of children in attendance at a service.
when do the changes take effect?
The amendments to the Regulation came into effect on 1 January 2011, including the ratio of one carer for every four children under the age of two in centre-based and mobile children’s services.
The National Quality Framework will apply from 1 January 2012.
where can I get more information?
Enquiries about the Children’s Services Regulation review can be emailed to CSRegRev@community.nsw.gov.au.
Contact the Central Licensing team for any licensing application queries:
ph: 1800 619 113 (toll free) or 02 9716 2100
fax: 02 9716 2162
email: cslicensing@community.nsw.gov.au