An emergency is an incident, situation or event that can affect the safety or health of people at the service. They require an immediate response.
An emergency can happen suddenly and put children, staff and visitors at risk.
Threats and hazards can come from inside or outside the service. They may include:
- building fires
- medical emergencies (for example, anaphylaxis or asthma attacks)
- intruders or aggressive behaviour
- bushfires, grassfires, floods or extreme weather
- poor air quality (for example, smoke from a nearby fire)
- gas leaks and chemical spills
- bomb or substance threats.
Services must plan ahead so they can respond quickly and keep everyone safe and well.
This information applies to the following services:
- long day care (LDC)
- standalone kindergarten
- family day care
- Outside School Hours Care (OSHC)
- occasional care
- limited hours.
For readability, we use the term ‘service’. It includes family day care residences and venues.
Read about managing bushfire and grassfire risks in early childhood services.
Emergency and evacuation requirements
All early childhood services must have an emergency and evacuation policy and procedures.
Approved providers must:
- make sure the service conducts a risk assessment to identify all potential emergencies
- have clear emergency and evacuation procedures, including medical incidents and trauma
- display an emergency and evacuation floor plan and instructions near each exit
- make sure the service rehearse emergency and evacuation procedures every 3 months and keep a record of it.
Services on the following lists have extra requirements:
Emergency and evacuation policy and procedures must be available on request.
For family day care services, they must always be available at residences or venues.
For more information, read:
- ACECQA Emergency and evacuation policy and procedure guidelines (PDF)
- Incident and emergency management (Guide to the NQF) – assessment and rating.
Emergency management plan
You should have an emergency management plan (EMP) to guide your response to emergencies.
An EMP helps you to:
- plan and document your emergency arrangements
- conduct your risk assessment
- set out your emergency and evacuation procedures
- develop your evacuation floor plan.
Your plan should include:
- staff roles and responsibilities before, during and after an emergency
- emergency contacts details
- emergency procedures rehearsal schedule
- emergency evacuation kit contents.
People with additional needs
Some children or staff may need extra support in an emergency.
You may need to create a personal emergency evacuation plan for them.
Services located on school sites
If your service is on a school site, we suggest you work with the school to align your emergency arrangements.
You must still:
- complete a separate risk assessment
- maintain your own emergency contacts.
This is especially important for OSHC and vacation services, as school contacts may not be available after hours or on holidays.
Keep your details up to date
Review and update your EMP regularly, including the contact details.
It is important you keep your service details up to date with us.
NQF services can update their details through NQA ITS.
Limited hours and occasional care services must:
- complete form AS10:
- email the completed form to vecra.licensing@education.vic.gov.au.
Risk assessment
A risk assessment is the first step in emergency planning, and all services must complete one.
It helps you to:
- identify possible threats, hazards and incidents at your service
- assess and document the level of risk
- develop policies and procedures to manage risks
- address unacceptable risks.
Review your risk assessment:
- at least once a year
- after rehearsing your emergency procedures or an actual emergency event.
Emergency procedures
You must have an emergency procedure for each risk identified.
Procedures should clearly explain what to do, including:
- contacting emergency services for advice or help
- using the emergency kit
- contacting parents or carers.
All staff must understand these procedures.
Parents and carers should also be familiar with your arrangements.
Where possible, seek advice from local emergency services or your council. They may be able to provide expert advice.
Remember to review your procedures after an emergency or rehearsal.
Family day care (FDC) services
Approved providers must make sure the service or each FDC educator can contact parents and emergency services.
They must have:
- a working phone (landline or mobile)
- other means of communication.
Emergency evacuation diagram
Your emergency evacuation diagram must include:
- a floor plan of the service
- evacuation routes
- assembly areas
- location of emergency equipment, such as fire extinguishers.
When choosing your assembly points:
- have more than one option where possible
- select a location that provides access to toilets, shelter and water (if possible)
- contact your local council or emergency service for advice.
Check the location is still suitable each time you rehearse.
Emergency evacuation diagrams must be clearly displayed in a prominent location that is visible to staff and visitors. This may be near each exit.
Evacuation resources
Australian Standard AS 3745-2010 – Planning for emergencies in facilities. Sets out industry standards for implementing emergency procedures and training in an organisation.
Rehearse your emergency procedures
You must rehearse your emergency and evacuation plan every 3 months.
This helps you identify and fix any potential problems.
When rehearsing:
- make sure everyone at the service takes part, including visitors
- use real scenarios
- appoint an observer to document the rehearsal.
It's important after each drill to:
- meet with staff to discuss what went well and what needs to change
- review your evacuation procedures and emergency arrangements
- make changes based on what you learned from the drill
- confirm contact details are up to date.
Health and safety resources
- Asthma Australia
- National Allergy Strategy
- Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia
- Bites and stings first aid
Contact us
We are the regulator for all early childcare services in Victoria.
Contact us:
- Phone: 1300 307 415 (9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday)
- Email: vecra@education.vic.gov.au.
You can also contact your closest VECRA regional office.
Phone us using an interpreter
You can contact our main switchboard using an interpreter.
- Call the National Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450
- Ask them to call 1300 307 415 (Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm)
- They will stay on the phone call and interpret.
Phone us using the National Relay Service
The National Relay Service is available as a phone solution for people who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment. It's available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Australia-wide. All calls are free and confidential.
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