Child safe practices for digital technologies and personal electronic devices

The following are a list of ‘essential purposes’:

• communication in an emergency situation to ensure safety:
  • involving a lost child, injury to child or staff member, or other serious incident
  • in the case of a lockdown or evacuation of the service premises
• personal health requirements – for example, heart or blood sugar level monitoring
• disability – for example, where a staff member needs a personal electronic device to communicate
• family necessity – for example, an early childhood staff member with an ill family member
• technology failure – for example, when there is a temporary outage of service-issued electronic devices
• during a local emergency event to receive emergency notifications – this could include government warning systems such as a bushfire evacuation text notification.

The use of personal devices must not impede the active supervision of children.

Personal electronic devices are only allowed in the following emergency situations:

• during excursions and regular outings – for example, when groups of children and educators get split up
• when children are transported or travel on transport arranged by the service.

Staff cannot use personal devices for routine communications during bush kinder, beach kinder or other nature programs. Personal devices are only permitted for authorised ‘essential purposes’.

Approved providers must provide enough service-issued devices for when programs are delivered away from the service.

All authorisations to have personal devices must be documented by the approved provider, in advance wherever possible.

Authorisations must be:

• recorded in writing
• kept in suitable logs or registered and stored securely.

If written authorisation is not possible (such as in emergencies) then there must be a record kept in another format.

All documentation should be available at the service for authorised officers to inspect.

• Staff and volunteers identify and mitigate risks in the online and physical environments without compromising a child’s right to privacy, access to information, social connections and learning opportunities (9.1).
• The online environment is used in accordance with the organisation’s Code of Conduct and Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy (Child Safe Environment Policy) and practices (9.2).
• Risk management plans consider risks posed by organisational setting, activities and the physical environment (9.3).

What approved providers have to show

You could demonstrate your compliance by having the following documents:

• Risk assessments that identify risks of child abuse and harm:
  • in both physical and online environments connected with the organisation
  • from the use of electronic devices for taking, sending and storing images or videos of children while they attend the service (Child Safe Standards 9.1, 9.3).
• Risk management plans that:
  • list the actions the organisation will take to prevent or reduce each of the risks of child abuse and harm
  • address the use of electronic devices for taking, sending and storing images or videos of children while they attend the service (Child Safe Standard 9.3).
• The Code of Conduct and Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy (Child Safe Environment Policy) that identify how the organisation will keep children safe in:
  • physical and online environments
  • higher-risk activities, including staff using electronic devices for taking, sending and storing images or videos of children while they attend the service (Child Safe Standards 9.2, 9.3).

• Policies and procedures address all Child Safe Standards (11.1).
• Policies and procedures are documented and easy to understand (11.2).
• Best practice models and stakeholder consultation inform the development of policies and procedures (11.3).
• Leaders champion and model compliance with policies and procedures (11.4).
• Staff and volunteers understand and implement policies and procedures (11.5).

What approved providers have to show

Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy (Child Safe Environment Policy) and Safe Use of Digital Technologies and Online Environments Policy

You could demonstrate your compliance by having the following documents:

• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy (Child Safe Environment Policy)
• Safe Use of Digital Technologies and Online Environments Policy.

This should also include information about the service’s expectations and approach to the use of electronic devices for taking, sending, and storing images and videos of children.

ACECQA has developed updated policy and procedure guidelines for:

• providing a child safe environment
• Safe Use of Digital Technologies and Online Environments Policy.

These guidelines can be downloaded at: Preparing NQF Policies and Procedures. While written for NQF services, occasional care and limited hours services may find them helpful.

These documents relate to Child Safe Standards 11.1, 11.2 and links to 2.3. They are also required under regulation 112 of the CS Regulations for occasional care or limited hours services.

Code of Conduct

Providers must also update their Code of Conduct for staff that sits within the service staffing policies and procedures. It sets the service’s expectations for behaviour and responsibilities of staff and volunteers in relation to the:

• use of personal devices in services
• approach to taking, sending and storing images or videos of children while they attend the service.

This document relates to:

• the National Model Code
• Child Safe Standards 11.1, 11.2 and links to 2.4
• regulation 112 of the CS Regulations.

• Parents/guardians can carry their own personal devices when dropping off or picking up their child at a service.
• Parents/guardians should never take photographs on their own device at a service.
• The approved provider must inform families of the service’s digital devices procedures and policies.

Where a professional attends a service to work with a child, they must use a device that is:

• issued by their business or institution
• used only for work purposes (and not personal use).

The service’s child safe policies and procedures will apply in these situations. Child Safe Standard 9 is particularly relevant.

• Visiting professionals and students should contact services before arriving to understand the service’s policies and procedures for the safe use of digital technologies and online environments.
• Policies and procedures can vary between services to reflect each service’s operations and unique context.
• Services should have processes to record when visiting professionals and students use a business or institution-issued device at their service. For example, a sign-in process to record when an external device is being used.
• If a visiting professional doesn’t have a business-issued device, and needs a device to deliver their program (for example, a music program), they can:
  • ask to use a service-issued device
  • use an electronic device that cannot take or record images of children.
• Allied health and inclusion professionals and Preschool Field Officers (PSFOs) can use business or institution-issued devices that are only used for work purposes, not personal use.
• If a third-party professional brings a device issued by their business or institution, it’s recommended the device is clearly branded, for example, with a company logo on a custom case and/or lock screen.

Services may consider providing a service-issued device where:

• a student attending the service as part of a practicum, or
• a visiting allied health or inclusion professional needs to take images or videos but doesn't have a business or institution-issued device.

Services should include information about this process in their policies and procedures.

Services must have policies for the safe use of digital technologies. This includes a clear set of guidelines that address the safe use of digital technologies and online environments at the service, including:

• the taking, use, storage and destruction of images and videos of children being educated and cared for by the service
• obtaining authorisation from parents to take, use and store images and videos of children being educated and cared for by the service
• the use of any optical surveillance device at the service (e.g. closed-circuit television)
• the use of any digital device issued by the service
• the use of digital devices by children being educated and cared for by the service.

As part of this, services must consider when developing their policies and procedures, the use of digital devices by visitors while at the service, including families at special events.

In developing this, services need to meet their obligations under the CS Act and CS Regulations, and other applicable requirements such as the Child Safe Standards.

Services may decide to not allow parents and guardians to take photographs during special events. Photographs could instead be taken on a service-issued device and shared with families after the event.

• Services should have policies and procedures for using professional photographers.
• The policies must include obtaining authorisation from parents and guardians to take, use and store images and videos of children at the service.
• Professional photographers must use business-issued devices or devices only used for business.
• When hiring a professional photographer, services need to have procurement policies that ensure the safety of children and young people.

When working directly with children, teachers and educators cannot use personal devices to receive multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages.

Staff using Arrival for mandatory kindergarten data reporting or other administrative activities should only be doing so when they are not providing education and care and working directly with children.

Services using Arrival to record attendance have received further advice from the department on how to access and use Arrival without MFA to sign children in and out of the service.

For help using Arrival, contact the Arrival Help Desk:

• phone: 1800 614 810 between 9 am and 5 pm, Monday to Friday
• email: implementation@education.vic.gov.au.

For all other Arrival enquiries please contact your local Early Childhood Improvement Branch.

• Smart watches that have inbuilt or remote camera or recording functions are not permitted under the regulations.
• The only exception is where smart watches do not have a camera or recording function.
• Services can ask staff who wear a smart watch without a camera or recording function to make a written declaration that their watch does not have this functionality.

• Staff can use service-issued devices to document and record routine activities. Staff can use service-issued devices to communicate with families about their child’s learning and participation at the service.
• Services must have policies and procedures on the safe use of digital technologies. This must include obtaining authorisation from parents and guardians to take, use and store images and videos of children at the service.

• The restrictions do not apply to third-party contractors who do not have direct contact with children, for example, maintenance people and gardeners who attend a service for a purpose other than to work with or provide education and care to, children.
• Services should inform them of the digital devices policies and procedures, as well as other child safe and supervision policies.
• Third party contractors should never take photos or videos of children at a service.