- Set clear expectations from the outset. Recruitment processes should assess an educator’s understanding of child protection and child safety, not just theoretical knowledge but through practical application. Providers may wish to use scenario-based questions and the to assess an educator’s understanding.
- Establish a strong reporting culture. Embed child-focused reporting processes that encourage children to express their concerns in safe and age-appropriate ways. Educators should also feel safe to speak up. Reporting concerns should never result in termination or shame. Learn more about creating a reporting culture.
- Hold regular discussions about child safety to ensure child safe practices are kept in focus.
- Promote continuous learning. Encourage regular training to ensure educators are across changes to legislation and understand their role in keeping children safe in the unique single-educator environment. The NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian and NSW Early Learning Commission (previously the NSW ECEC Regulatory Authority within the NSW Department of vlog) have developed a suite of e-learning modules to support FDC services and educators to effectively implement the Child Safe Standards. NSW Family Day Care Australia also provides a range of training on child safety topics through its series.
- Engage with children and families about child safety. Introduce child safety expectations during enrolment, including for school-aged children, and invite ongoing feedback.
Compliance focus – child safety requirements in family day care
Guidance on key child safety requirements for family day care and strategies for providers, service leaders and educators to support safe practices.
18 August 2025
This article was updated on 2 February 2026.
Creating safe environments for children is a fundamental requirement under the National Quality Framework (NQF) in early childhood education and care (ECEC). In family day care (FDC), the home-based and single-educator model presents unique risks that services must actively identify and manage.
Supporting a child safe culture in this setting involves a clear understanding and management of the roles, responsibilities and obligations of everyone in the home.
Child safety considerations in family day care
When planning for child safety in a family day care environment, it’s important to consider how the home environment, household members and daily routines may impact child safety and supervision.
Here are some key considerations to help services and educators meet their obligations and maintain a child safe environment.
The National Regulations and National Law in NSW are being updated to include new requirements for child-safe recruitment and ongoing child-safe employment practices. These requirements apply to all staff members at a service, including those employed directly by the service, volunteers and casual or relief staff members engaged through agencies.
Learn more about child safe recruitment and employment practices.
Ensure children are only in the care of authorised adults
Children must never be left with visitors or household members who are not approved to provide care in the family day care residence. Educators and services must follow the requirements under of the Children (vlog and Care Services) National Law (NSW) (National Law) to ensure children are always in the supervision of an approved educator.
Supervise children’s access to technology
In family day care settings, especially where school-aged children attend, digital devices may be part of the home environment. Educators must implement clear supervision practices to ensure children’s online safety and age-appropriate engagement. This includes ensuring policies and practices are in place to promote safe and appropriate use of technology in line with of the vlog and Care Services National Regulations.
Monitor and maintain Working with Children Checks (WWCC)
It’s important that all adults residing at the family day care residence, including those who turn 18 while living there, hold a current and verified WWCC as per . Services must have clear systems in place to track and verify compliance in line with .
Strengthen recruitment practices
Effective recruitment involves assessing an educator’s practical understanding of child safety. Services should consider the educator’s qualifications as well as references that reflect professional and relevant experience, as required under and .
Read guidance on understanding manipulative behaviours and embedding safeguarding in recruitment and embedding child safety into staff onboarding and induction.
Regulatory requirements
Family day care services are required to comply with multiple provisions under the National Law and Regulations. These include:
- – children must not be left with unauthorised persons, except in accordance with the circumstances set out in .
- – mandates that a family day care educator must hold at least an approved certificate III level education and care qualification.
- – providers must take reasonable steps to ensure that the person being engaged or registered as a family day care educator has adequate knowledge and understanding of providing education and care to children.
- – adults in the residence must hold a valid WWCC. Educators must also inform their approved provider of any new adults at the residence.
- – services must have current policies and procedures for child protection and child safe environments.
- – services must have an accurate register of all family day care educators, coordinators and assistants.
There is also a new provision under the National Law (NSW) that requires educators and other staff members of an education and care service to notify their approved providers if they receive a negative notice or if there has been a change in relation to the educator’s accreditation or registration.
- – educators and other staff members of education and care service to notify certain information [NSW]
- – approved provider must notify the Regulatory Authority of events under section 174AA [NSW].
Penalties apply under where false or misleading information is provided to an approved provider, service or recruitment agency in relation to a relevant notice. This includes suspension notices, supervision notices and prohibition notices.
Roles across family day care
Approved providers, coordinators and educators have important responsibilities in keeping children safe in family day care services.
Approved providers
Coordinators
- Use monitoring visits to assess practice. Conduct regular monitoring visits that include reviewing supervision and physical environments, for example, by asking how educators supervise when leaving a room, use shared spaces or manage the use of devices.
- Support educators in identifying risks and implementing strategies to manage them, based on their home-environment.
- Review and update policies and ensure they are aligned to regulatory provisions, including new child safety requirements commencing 1 September 2025.
Educators
- Ensure household members are informed of their responsibilities and boundaries during care hours.
- Supervise children actively at all times and ensure no unauthorised person is left alone with children at any time.
- Do not use devices for personal reasons during care hours and ensure children cannot access unsafe content.
- Understand your role as a mandatory reporter. If you’re concerned, you must speak up.
- Children’s records are kept secure and not accessible by other people. Educators should avoid using platforms or tools that may alter or misuse children’s images. Learn more on effective record keeping.
- Stay up to date with required training and the service’s child safe policies and procedures in relation to child safe environments.
Tips for creating a child safe environment
Each family day care residence is unique, so supervision strategies must be adapted to suit each specific layout, daily routines and the individual needs of children in care.
Assess your layout
Before starting care, approved providers, coordinators and educators should carefully walk through the whole home to identify potential risks and supervision blind spots. This includes indoor and outdoor areas used by children.
- Check rooms connected to play areas, like lounges, kitchens and where other household members may be present.
- Look for places where children might be out of sight, such as behind furniture or around corners.
- Ensure stairs, balconies, gates and entrances are secured and child safe.
- Consider visibility and access to all spaces where children may play, sleep or eat. Your environment should be set up in a way that allows you to supervise all children, even when you’re attending to routine tasks like preparing food.
Ask, “Can I always see or hear the children in these spaces?”
Consider ages and needs of children
Supervision should match the age and needs of each child. Children with additional needs may require different supervision arrangements or adjustments to the residence. It is important to have discussions with the child’s family to ensure their needs are met during care.
Ongoing monitoring
Coordinators or approved providers should conduct monitoring visits at varying times to observe how spaces are used and how children are being supervised. This also includes how the home is used during the day and whether there are risks to educators being distracted by phones, visitors or other activities happening around the home.
- Observe how educators supervise children during transitions, for example, mealtimes, nappy changes and sleep time.
- Discuss how educators manage supervision when they leave a room or use shared household spaces, like bathrooms.
- Check how digital devices are stored and used during care.
Review and update safety practices regularly
Ongoing reflection, updates and conversations is key to promoting a child safe environment. Family day care educators should consider using safety checklists to review their environment daily and discuss supervision strategies with their coordinator during regular visits to assess whether they are effective. Inviting feedback from families about how you support their child’s safety is also an important way to assess your practices.
Practice examples
A family day care educator greets school-age children as they arrive at their residence. Each child is asked to place their phone in a basket by the front door, where devices are stored safely until home time.
This helps manage risk and is an example of good regulatory practice that complies with the service’s safe use of online environments policy under regulation 168.
A family day care educator leaves a sleeping child in the care of a household member while collecting another child from school. Even with good intentions, this is a breach of section 164A. Only approved persons can care for children during operational hours.
A friend visits a family day care educator during care hours. While they talk, the educator is distracted and doesn’t notice a child wander out of the designated care area and into an unsupervised room. The educator only realises the child is missing when they hear them crying from another part of the home. The educator locates the child, who has a bump on their head from running into the door while in the unapproved location.
This is a breach of section 165 and 167 of the National Law, which require that children are adequately supervised and protected from harm and hazards.
More information and resources
- NSW Early Learning Commission – Child safety
- Family Day Care NSW
- ACECQA
- ACECQA
- Office of the Children’s Guardian – Child Safe Standards
- NSW Early Learning Commission
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