MANDATORY CHILD SAFETY TRAINING
| Mandatory Child Safety Training | |
| MCST-01 | When can we see the full scope and content of this child safety training? And how will it be different to the annual child protection training? |
Unofficial Answer: According to the Australian Centre for Child Protection, due to the ongoing consultation and still development of the child safety training, Moreover, although it will be different to the child protection training, there appears to be government understanding that both must be streamlined into one ideally. This decision is unlikely to be made for 2026, but is envisaged for 2027. That said, we await written confirmation and details. |
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| MCST-02 | How long will the training be per day? Will it be more than one hour long? |
| Unofficial Answer: Apparently, the first two “modules” will each be 2 hours long. And apparently, it is self-paced and online. This may mean that personnel who must do this training may not need to come into the service to do the training. That said, we await written confirmation and details. | |
| MCST-03 | Will the 5 days be the same 5 days for all services across the nation? Or will it be staggered? And what about different timezones? |
| Unofficial Answer: Apparently, the five days mentioned will be up to the individual services to determine. That said, we await written confirmation and details. | |
| MCST-04 | With $40 million annually of existing Child Care Subsidy expenditure to pay for closures to complete this mandatory safety training for 200,000 people, is it enough? (eg $40m ÷ 5 days ÷ 200,000 people = $40 per person) |
| Unofficial Answer: It would seem that the Federal Government’s intention is to allow (not force) services to close so that the CCS (and gap fees) associated for that time closed can be used for training purposes. Separately, apparently small-medium services (ie those Approved Providers who have less than 25 services), can apply for a grant to help pay for such training for the services’ personnel. That said, we await written confirmation and details. | |
| MCST-05 | Beyond staff, volunteers and students, who else must attend these trainings? |
Unofficial Answer: While services will have to wait for the written confirmation and details, it is likely that volunteers, trainees, educators, teachers, Responsible Persons, Nominated Supervisors and Persons with Management and Control will be required to complete the on-line training. That said, we await written confirmation and details. |
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| MCST-06 | How will the Federal Government want services to accommodate parents who collect their children late (ie after 5 pm)? |
| Unofficial Answer: Should services decide to close early, then the usual legal, regulatory obligations and protocols are to be followed. That said, we await written confirmation and details. | |
| MCST-07 | How will the Federal Government expect services to document evidence of training attendance? |
| Unofficial Answer: Apparently, the online training platform that the ACCP will use will also be the mechanism the Federal Government will use to track each service’s fulfilment of this mandatory child safety training. That said, we await written confirmation and details. | |
| MCST-08 | How will the Federal Government monitor and measure the effectiveness of the training? |
Unofficial Answer: This appears to be undetermined on multiple fronts. This includes their apparent techniques/processes for identifying risks and That said, we await written confirmation and details. |
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| MCST-09 | If staff members were on leave or not rostered on that day (including on sick leave), how will that staff be given the training? |
| Unofficial Answer: According to the ACCP, as the training is via an online platform, unavailable personnel can do the training without being physically part of the service when the training is done. The Federal Government’s intention is that training is best done in person and with others. That said, we await written confirmation and details. | |
| MCST-10 | Will the training be recorded (to maximise learning after the days/times of training)? |
| Unofficial Answer: According to the ACCP, as the training is via an online platform, hence it is always available. That said, we await written confirmation and details. | |
| MCST-11 | Will these new child safety trainings be embedded into future Certificate III, Diploma and degree qualification training? |
| Unofficial Answer: Apparently, this training will not be included in future Certificate III, Diploma and degree qualification training. Apparently, it is viewed as separate, annual and ongoing supplementary training. That said, we await written confirmation and details. | |
| MCST-12 | If services apply the training, will the NSW Regulatory Authority (to be called the NSW Early Learning Commission) use the broad National Law's section 167 to enforce higher expectations that the training did not articulate? |
Unofficial Answer: It remains unclear that the NSW Early Learning Commission will ever publicly publish guidelines, including their interpretation of “paramountcy” and in the context of the National Law’s Section 167 and others. This is a matter that ACA NSW has overtly and consistently raised but as yet have not had a reasonable response from the NSW Regulatory Authority. |
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| MCST-13 | When doing the training, can services’ personnel use their own personal devices or must they use service-issued devices? |
Unofficial Answer: While not providing early childhood education and care, it is likely that services’ personnel will be reliant on using their own personal devices for such training. That said, we await written confirmation and details. |
