As of 1 March 2026, the Fair Work Commission’s changes to the Children’s Services Award 2010 officially took effect, and now—one month later—all early childhood educators covered by the award should have received their pay increase. This marks a significant step in addressing gender-based undervaluation in the sector.

In 2025, several Australian training providers had their registrations cancelled by ASQA, leading to the invalidation of qualifications such as the Certificate III and Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care. These cancellations highlight serious compliance failures and affect many students who must now seek legitimate pathways to requalify.

Spot checks are unannounced, in-person visits conducted by authorised officers and will continue in 2026. Their purpose is to ensure services are meeting their legal obligations and correctly managing the CCS. These checks are part of strengthening compliance and safeguarding children’s well-being.

The new national child safety training requirement ensures that all educators across Australia are equipped with consistent knowledge and practices to safeguard children. To support this, the government has introduced a measure allowing Child Care Subsidy (CCS)-approved services to close briefly each year so staff can complete the training without disrupting families.

The government has made National Child Safety Training mandatory for everyone working in early childhood education and care (ECEC). This training is free to complete, but it takes time—and that’s where the subsidy comes in.

The Fair Work Commission has officially implemented wage increases for early childhood educators as part of its gender-based undervaluation review. The updated pay rates and classification structure are now in effect from 1 March 2026. 

Education Minister Jess Walsh has announced today that the government is banning the unsafe business practice of misuse of “under-the-roofline” ratios. For many educators, this statement feels like a long-awaited victory. Yet the choice of wording — misuse — leaves room for interpretation, and that ambiguity deserves closer scrutiny.

National child safety training is now mandatory for everybody working or volunteering in an ECEC service regulated under the NQF. Foundation training is the first stage of national child safety training and is available now. Foundation training is mandatory for any person who works or volunteers in an ECEC service regulated under the NQF.

As of today, February 27th, 2026, all ECE services are required to provide workforce information to the Register. Approved providers must now enter who is working in their services and keep it up to date.

From today, February 27, 2026, significant amendments to the Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations are now being enforced, introducing new digital device safety standards across early childhood education and care services. By formally including these standards in regulations such as Regulation 168 (Policies and Procedures), Regulations 97 & 99 (Children’s Safety), and Regulation 73 (Educational Program), the changes make digital safety a legal requirement, reinforcing the sector’s role as a champion of child safety in a technology-driven world.

These reforms embed modern child protection measures directly into the national regulations, requiring services to update policies, strengthen risk management, and train staff to ensure digital devices are used safely and responsibly.