The legislation will give the Commonwealth Government power to cut off funding to child care centres that don’t meet the National Quality Standard when it comes to safety and quality, where there’s a breach of the law, or where centres are acting in a way that puts the safety of children at risk.
The new laws, which were passed by the parliament on Thursday, will also allow Commonwealth officers to perform spot-checks without warning to detect fraud and non-compliance across the sector.
These new powers will be used in close collaboration with the State Government, which has primary responsibility for regulating quality and safety in early childhood education and care in Queensland under the National Quality Framework.
The legislation builds on the work the Albanese Government and state and territory governments have already done implementing the recommendations of the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority’s Child Safety Review.
These include mandatory 24-hour reporting of any allegations, complaints or incidents of physical or sexual abuse, and restricting the use of personal mobile phones in centres.
Federal Member for Blair Shayne Neumann welcomed the new laws, and said it was important for parents to have trust and confidence in child care centres.
“Around 9,000 families in Blair rely on local child care centres to care for and educate their children, so it’s absolutely vital that we keep these young kids safe,” Mr Neumann said.
“We are determined to do what needs to be done to restore the integrity of a system that our local parents need to have confidence in.
“Every child deserves to be safe in their early learning centre, and this legislation requires providers to put safety first.
“I’m pleased our bill to cut Commonwealth funding from early childhood services who put profits before safety has now passed the parliament and become law.
“This legislation will give the Commonwealth Government power to cut off funding to child care centres that aren’t up to scratch and persistently fail to meet minimum standards.
“This is not about demonising the child care sector or shutting centres down, it’s about lifting up standards. But the Government will shut centres where necessary.
“The Albanese Labor Government is absolutely committed to ensuring that children have a positive, rewarding and safe early education experience to get the best possible start in life.”
The bill’s passage capped off a successful week for the Government with legislation to cut student debts also passing the parliament.
The new child care safety laws are just one of a number of steps the Albanese Government is taking with the states and territories to protect children in early education and care.
Speeding up work on a nationwide register of early educators will be on the agenda at the Education Ministers’ Meeting in August, as well as the role of CCTV in centres and mandatory child safety training for educators.
Grants are now available to help ECEC educators, early childhood teachers and directors for Professional Development and Paid Practicum Placements.
The Albanese Government has also put reform of Working with Children Checks as the first item on the agenda for the Federal-State Standing Council of Attorneys-General meeting this month.
