More power for the NSW Regulatory Authority and higher penalties for NSW services ...

The NSW Government announced today that there will be more than 30 proposed changes to the Children (Education and Care Services National Law Application) Act 2010 (National Law).

SOURCE: Network Ten News (10 September 2025)

These changes to the National Law include:

• enabling the NSW Regulatory Authority to publish more information about high-risk services, including current investigations;

• enabling the NSW Regulator Authority to suspend or revoke quality ratings during or following an investigation;

• increasing whistleblower protections;

• tripling penalties across the board in line with nationally-agreed changes;

• introducing a new nation-leading power for the NSW Minister and the NSW Regulatory Authority to issue binding directions to the sector where there is an unacceptable risk to child safety. This could include banning mobile devices, ordering closure during a natural disaster, requiring services to comply with a prospective national teacher register or imposing compulsory child safety training; and

• introducing requirements for child-safe recruitment practices, including checking whether current or prospective staff have been prohibited from working in early childhood education and care.

SOURCE: Radio 2GB Afternoon Show with Michael McLaren (10 September 2025)

SOURCE: Radio 2GB Afternoon Show with Michael McLaren (11 September 2025)

As no one can put too high a price on ensuring all our children are safe, the true effectiveness of these government initiatives must be measured as a whole, not in parts.

Hence, while a step in the right direction, the substantive components of this announcement were those persistently sought by ACA NSW, in particular:

1. the effectiveness of outcomes of the current and future NSW Regulatory Authority; and

2. the introduction of whistleblower protections.

That said, while 92.6% of NSW-based services (and 94.6% of NSW-based services' Quality Area 2 - Children's Health and Safety) are already Meeting the National Quality Standards or higher, what remains unclear may yet to be announced by the NSW Government, including:

1. the confidence and reliability of the Quality Ratings process and its harmonisation with the NSW Regulatory Authority's risk assessment of NSW-based services;

2. the expansion of child safety training, including how to identify risks and perpetrators before child safety incidences occur;

3. the legal and industrial protections for employers that are necessary to remove risks from children effectively; and

4. the comprehensiveness of the anticipated National Register for Care Workers.

For any further information/clarification, members can contact the ACA NSW team via 1300 556 330 or nsw@childcarealliance.org.au.

UPDATED: 11 SEPTEMBER 2025

PUBLISHED: 10 SEPTEMBER 2025