Children's services regulated under Victorian law

There are 2 types of services regulated under Victorian law:

limited hours services
occasional care services.

We refer to these services as 'children’s services'.

They differ from services operating under the National Quality Framework (NQF).

What are limited hours and occasional care services

Limited hours and occasional care services offer education and care for children on a non-regular or ad hoc basis.

They are often in community settings such as neighbourhood houses and recreational facilities.

Types of limited hours and occasional care services

Early childhood intervention services
Mobile services
School holiday care programs that operate for less than 28 days a year
Services previously funded through the Australian Government’s Budget Based Funded program or Indigenous Advancement programs that do not receive Child Care Subsidy

How these services operate

Limited hours and occasional care services:

provide education and care for 4 or more children under 13 years of age
operate when parents are not physically present
charge a fee or reward for service
provide care at a facility used by parents (such as a sports or leisure centre).

They operate under the following legislation:

Children’s Services Act 1996 (CS Act)
Children’s Services Regulations 2020 (CS Regulations).

Service approval types

There are 2 types of service approvals under the Children’s Services Act.

Limited hours services

Limited hours services provide education and care to each child for no more than:

3 hours per day
6 hours per week.

Occasional care services

Occasional care services apply to all other services.

These services have no limit on the number of hours children can receive education and care.

Regulatory requirements

Most regulatory requirements for limited hours and occasional care services are the same as those for services under the National Quality Framework (NQF).

The key differences for limited hours and occasional care services are:

the National Quality Standard does not apply
services are not assessed or rated against the National Quality Standard
there is no requirement to have an educational leader
there is no requirement to have a quality improvement plan.

There are also some differences depending on the type of service approval.

Select from the list below to find the information you need.

All children’s services must have an early childhood teacher present if a child attends the service for more than 30 hours a week on average over 4 weeks.
The teacher must be present for:
- at least 50% of the time the service is operating, or
- 20 hours per week.
Qualification requirements depend on the type of service.
Limited hours services
All educators who educate and care for children must have completed at least an approved Certificate III in education and care.
Occasional care services
For educators required to meet the educator to child ratio:
- At least 50% must hold, or be actively working towards, an approved diploma in education and care.
- All other educators must hold, or be actively working towards, at least an approved Certificate III in education and care.
Approved qualifications
Approved qualifications are those recognised by the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).
Some educators completed training recognised under the Children’s Services Regulations 2009. This training is still recognised under the Children’s Services Regulations.
These educators completed a bridging course instead of a Certificate III qualification.
Children’s services must have the same training as centre-based services for:
- first aid
- anaphylaxis
- asthma management.
For further information, see: First aid and safety training.
All children’s services must provide at least 3.25 square metres of indoor space per child.
Outdoor space requirements depend on the service type.
Limited hours services
Limited hours services do not need to provide outdoor space.
Occasional care services
Occasional care services must provide at least 7 square metres of outdoor space per child.
Some services licensed before the regulatory system aligned with the NQF in 2020 were not required to have an outdoor space. This includes occasional care services that were previously limited hours type 2 services.
These services can continue to operate if they don’t have 7 square metres of outdoor space per child. They must maintain the previous limits of 5 hours per day and 15 hours per week for each child’s education and care.
Verandah space
Verandah space may be counted:
- as either indoor or outdoor space with approval from us
- once only (either indoor or outdoor space, not both).
Requirements for transporting children are the same as those under the NQF.
This includes:
- regular transport provided or arranged by the service
- transport provided for excursions and regular outings.
Read about these requirements at: Health, safety and wellbeing in early childhood services.
From 1 July 2023, the definition of persons with management or control (PMC) under the Children’s Services Act 1996 expanded.
A PMC includes anyone who has authority, responsibility or significant influence over the:
- planning, direction or control of service activities
- delivery of the service.
This may include:
- employees of the approved provider
- employees of a third-party management company connected to the approved provider
- volunteers
- people without a formal role who have significant influence over the service.
For more information on identifying persons with management or control refer to ACECQA information sheets:
- Identifying persons with management or control of a service from 1 July 2023 – existing providers
- Identifying persons with management or control of a service from 1 July 2023 – prospective providers.
Changes to PMC details
Approved providers must notify us if PMC details change.
To do this, complete the following forms and email them to vecra@education.vic.gov.au:

Forms and how to submit them

Download the form you need from the list below.

Fill in all sections of the form, sign it, and attach all required information and documents.

For help completing the form, read:

Before you submit your form

We cannot process your form unless:

all sections are complete
all supporting documents are attached, including colour copies of identification
you have paid any required fees.

Each form explains what information and documents you need to provide.

Providing false or misleading information is an offence under the Children’s Services Act.

Submit your form

Email your completed application or notification to us: vecra@education.vic.gov.au.

We will review and process your request.

Provider forms

- AP01 – Application for Provider Approval (PDF, 1MB)
- AP01 – Application for Provider Approval (DOCX, 122KB)

Service forms

Request an internal review

- CS03 – Internal Review of a Reviewable Decision (PDF, 886KB)
- CS03 – Internal Review of a Reviewable Decision (DOCX, 94KB)

Register of children's services

To find an approved children’s service, check the: Register of Approved Children's Services – June 2026 (XLSX, 92KB).

For education and care services that operate under the NQF, check the national registers.

Resources and guidance

The following resources can be used by children’s services:

Fees and penalties

Fees and penalties are set using units, not dollar amounts. This follows the Monetary Units Act 2004.

The value of a fee and penalty unit is updated each year on 1 July by the Treasurer.

2025-26 children's services fees and penalties

The documents below show the current fee and penalty units in dollar amounts. These apply from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.

You do not need to pay GST on these fees or penalties.

For more information, see: indexation of fees and penalties.

Legislation

Early childhood

Updated 2 June 2026