As of 2024–2025, new national regulations across Australia have significantly tightened restrictions on smoking and vaping in and around early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. These changes reflect a growing commitment to child safety, educator well-being, and public health, and they’re now embedded in the Education and Care Services National Regulations and the National Quality Standard (NQS).

In early childhood education and care, child safety is not just a number—it’s a practice. While educator-to-child ratios are essential, they are only one part of a broader obligation: ensuring adequate supervision at all times. Together, these two pillars—Regulation 122 and Section 165—form the foundation of safe, responsive, and compliant care.

Today, 1 September 2025, marks a pivotal shift in Australia’s early childhood education landscape, with strengthened child safety regulations now officially in force under the National Quality Framework (NQF). These reforms—fast-tracked following the national review of child safety arrangements—aim to close regulatory gaps, improve incident response, and safeguard children in increasingly digital environments.

The State Administrative Tribunal fined a Bunbury childcare centre, in WA $15,000 after a four-year-old boy wandered off its property alone, a caution has been given to childcare service providers.

The NSW Minister for Education and Early Learning has released a Minister’s Statement of Expectations. This formal public statement covers how the education and care sector’s regulator will operate and what the public can expect of the government in ensuring that education and care services in NSW are appropriately regulated.

Children need safe and positive environments to learn and grow. To ensure this, services and educators need to ensure effective supervision at all times. The following article provides information on the different aspects of supervision, ranging from regulatory requirements and principles to practice strategies.

It is crucial that all providers and service staff ensure children are safe, healthy and protected from harm and risks associated with sleep and rest by complying with all sleep and rest regulatory requirements.