New resources for the New Child Safety Regulations Changes

NEW Resources Alert 

By BEST Childcare Consulting

From 1 September 2025 and 1 January 2026, new reforms will come into effect that strengthen expectations around proactive child safety, leadership accountability, and the safe use of digital technologies. Understanding these changes is not optional—it is essential. By preparing now, you can help ensure our service moves beyond minimum compliance to show a genuine, whole-team commitment to child safety—something that sits at the heart of quality practice and professionalism in early education.

What support is there to effect these changes?

These changes come from the Review of Child Safety Arrangements under the NQF, released by ACECQA in December 2023. To support you, ACECQA has developed two new guides: the NQF Child Safe Culture Guide, focused on embedding child-safe practice in everything we do, and the NQF Online Safety Guide, which helps services manage risks and build safe digital environments for children. Updates will also be made to core reference materials, including the Guide to the NQF, so our everyday practice, policies, and reflections are aligned.

What’s changing and when?

• From 1 September 2025
  • Services must have policies and procedures on the safe use of digital technologies and online environments.
  • A 24-hour notification requirement applies for incidents or allegations of physical or sexual abuse.
  • Service environments must be free from vaping substances and devices.  
• From 1 January 2026
  • National Quality Standard refinements strengthen the focus on child safety in Quality Areas 2 and 7, including the revised Element 7.1.2 wording noted above. 

Context: These updates respond to ACECQA’s Review of Child Safety Arrangements under the NQF and the Australian Government’s Child Safety Review work program.  

What’s inside (at a glance)

While tailored to different roles across a service, the Child Safe Culture Guide emphasises:

• Leadership & governance: visible commitment to child safety, clear responsibilities, and fit-for-purpose systems. (See also the updated wording for Element 7.1.2 to require systems that enable a quality service that is child safe.) ACECQA
• Workforce capability: recruiting, inducting, training and supervising a child-safe workforce. ACECQA
• Children’s voice & family partnerships: creating safe, inclusive ways for children to participate and for families to raise concerns. Starting Blocks
• Risk management across environments: proactively identifying, assessing and mitigating risks, including online environments (addressed further in the Online Safety Guide). The guides include reflection questions you can use in staff meetings and training. ACECQA
• Responding to concerns & continuous improvement: clear incident/complaints pathways, documentation, and ongoing review using self-assessment tools and checklists. ACECQA+1

NQF Child Safe Culture Guide

The goal is to help services embed a child-safe culture consistently across all operations, linked to QA2 (Children’s Health & Safety) and QA7 (Governance & Leadership). Embedding an overall culture of child safety in ECEC services. Applies across all service environments (physical, social, cultural).

Core content:

• Leadership, governance, and accountability for child safety.
• Recruitment, training and supervision of a child-safe workforce.
• Promoting children’s voice, participation, and cultural safety.
• Managing risks to children’s safety and wellbeing.
• Complaints handling and reporting requirements.
• Self-assessment & risk assessment tool + policies/procedures checklist.

NQF Online Safety Guide

The goal is to ensure that services are not only child-safe in the physical world but also digitally safe, protecting children’s wellbeing in online and technology-enabled contexts. Addressing specific risks in digital and online environments within ECEC services. Recognises that technology is increasingly part of children’s lives and service operations.

Core content:

• Safe use of digital technologies (devices, apps, platforms).
• Privacy, data security and protecting children’s personal information.
• Risks of inappropriate or unsafe online contact.
• Balancing benefits of digital learning with safeguarding responsibilities.
• Reflection questions and a dedicated Online Safety Risk Assessment Tool.
• New requirements: services must have an online safety policy (by Sept 2025).

Supporting Tools within the Child Safety Guides

Child Safe Culture Self-Assessment and Risk Assessment
Reflection and planning tool to identify strengths, gaps, and next steps. NQF Child Safe Culture Guide self-assessment and risk assessment

Online Safety Self-Assessment and Risk Assessment
Evaluate risks related to technology use and plan strategies. NQF Online Safety Guide self-assessment and risk assessment

Incident Response Template
A practical template for responding to complaints, disclosures, or incidents. Incident Response template (responding to complaints and disclosures)

Reporting and Responding Schemes Tool
Outlines legal and regulatory obligations for reporting concerns across jurisdictions. Reporting and Responding Schemes tool

Policies & procedures checklist to ensure required NQF policies explicitly address child safety and online safety (e.g., Regulation 168(2)(h)). https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-06/CSG_Tools_LeadershipPoliciesAndContinuousImprovement_ChildSafetyPoliciesAndProceduresChecklist

Where do I start?

1. Scan & set priorities – Complete the Self-assessment & risk assessment tool with your team; have the approved provider review outcomes. ACECQA
2. Tighten policies – Use the Policies & procedures checklist to ensure child-safety intent is explicit across all required policies (including online safety). ACECQA
3. Build capability – Plan role-specific induction, refresher training and supervision that reflect the guide’s reflection questions and “what it looks like in practice.” ACECQA
4. Elevate voice & reporting – Make child-friendly complaints pathways visible; communicate how families can raise concerns and how the service will respond. Starting Blocks
5. Evidence for A&R – Map your practices to QA2 & QA7, keep records of reflections, drills, incident learning and policy cycles; be ready to show how systems ensure a service that is child safe. ACECQA

Where do I access the tools?

• NQF Child Safe Culture Guide (overview & access) and NQF Online Safety Guide (companion). Starting Blocks
• Information sheet: NQF child-safety changes (timelines; Element 7.1.2 wording). ACECQA
• Self-assessment & risk assessment tool (Child Safe Culture). ACECQA
• Policies & procedures checklist (Child Safety Guides tools). ACECQA
• Context: Review of Child Safety Arrangements under the NQF (final report). ACECQA
• Department of Education: National Child Safety Review – sector guidance (regulatory change overview). Department of Education

BEST Childcare Consulting 

At BEST Childcare Consulting, we believe child safety is the foundation of quality early education. Our role is to help services not only meet the new NQF requirements, but to truly embed child-safe practices into everyday learning, leadership, and family engagement. By working together, we can ensure every child feels safe, respected, and supported to thrive.

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