Health, safety and wellbeing in early childhood services

Children must be kept safe and healthy when they attend an early education and care service.

This is a legal obligation for:

approved providers
services
nominated supervisors
persons with management or control (PMC).

This page summarises the key requirements for each topic. It applies to National Quality Framework (NQF) services. To comply with legal obligations, you must refer to the linked resources. This includes ACECQA’s Guide to the National Quality Framework (NQF).

For accessibility, we abbreviate the Education and Care Services National Law (National Law) and Education and Care Services National Regulations (National Regulations).

When we refer to all services it includes the following care types:

long day care
standalone kindergarten
family day care (FDC)
Outside School Hours Care (OSHC)
vacation care.

Occasional care and limited hours care are regulated under the:

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

For information, see: Children’s services regulated under Victorian law.

Managing children’s medical conditions

Information about safely managing children’s diagnosed medical conditions in early childhood services.

All services must have medical policies and procedures that are available and followed.
The National Law and Regulations have different requirements for managing children with:
- a diagnosed medical condition
- dietary preferences.
Services must make sure they have this information when the child enrols. They must also make sure families tell the service if a child’s medical condition and health needs change.
Children with a diagnosed medical condition must have the following in place:
- medical management plans
- risk minimisation plans
- communication plans.
Your legal requirements
Read the information below to understand your legal responsibilities and how to comply.
- Medical conditions policy (Guide to the NQF) – operational requirements
- Guidance for medical management plans, risk minimisation and communications – Quality Area 2 information sheet
- Dealing with medical conditions in children (PDF) – policy and procedures guidelines
- Medical conditions risk management and communication plan (DOCX)
- Administration of medication (Guide to the NQF) – operational requirements
- Sample forms and templates – download a sample medication record or child enrolment record
Additional resources
- Manage anaphylaxis risk – examples of anaphylaxis risk minimisation strategies for children’s education and care services (National Allergy Council)
- Kids asthma triggers – Asthma Australia
- Best practice guidelines for anaphylaxis prevention and management in children’s education and care – National Allergy Council
- Staying Healthy: Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and care (National Health and Medical Research Council) – practical expert advice
- eLearning from the National Allergy Council provides the following courses:
  - All about allergens: Training for food service in children’s education and care (suitable for all roles at all services)
  - Managing allergies and other dietary requirements in children’s education and care (for cooks and helpful for managers and educators)

Hygiene and managing infection

How to reduce the spread of infectious diseases through good hygiene, cleaning and exclusion practices.

All approved providers must make sure their services, including family day care residences:
- have policies and procedures on how they will deal with infectious diseases
- take all reasonable steps to prevent the spread of infectious disease at the service
- display a notice if an infectious disease occurs at the service
- notify each parent or authorised emergency contact as soon as possible if a disease is detected
- notify us within 7 days of any circumstance that poses a risk to the health, safety or wellbeing of a child or children using the NQA ITS system.
Your legal requirements
Read the information below to understand your legal responsibilities and how to comply.
- Infectious diseases (Guide to the NQF) – Section 4: operational requirements
- Health practices and procedures (Guide to the NQF) – Section 3: assessment and rating
- Dealing with infectious diseases (PDF) – policy and procedure guidelines
- Staying Healthy: Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and care (National Health and Medical Research Council) – practical expert advice
- Exclusion periods for primary schools and children’s services (Victorian Department of Health) – information about how long children with infections must not attend to reduce the spread of infection
- Notifying VECRA about incidents, complaints and other circumstances
- ACECQA National Decision tree – interactive tool to help providers decide when to report incidents, complaints and other circumstances
- Watch the help video on how to use the National Decision Tree
- Contact details for Local Public Health Units – advice on managing infections and outbreaks

Incidents and injuries

What to do when a child is injured or becomes unwell. This includes first aid, response procedures and reporting requirements.

Services must have policies and procedures covering incident, injury, trauma and illness. This includes how you will:
- administer first aid
- notify parents
- contact emergency services or medical professionals
- maintain adequate supervision to minimise risk
- notify us of any serious incidents or other regulatory requirements
- keep an incident, injury, trauma and illness record that includes the required information.
Your legal requirements
Read the information below to understand your legal responsibilities and how to comply.
- Incidents, injury, trauma and illness (Guide to the NQF) – operational information
- Managing and responding to injury, trauma and illness incidents – Quality area 2 information sheet
- Incident, injury, trauma and illness (PDF) – policy and procedure guideline
- Incident, injury, trauma and illness record (PDF) (optional form) – fillable PDF form
- The administration of first aid (PDF) - policy and procedure guidelines
Other information
Nurse on Call – call 1300 60 60 24 from anywhere in Victoria for free health advice, 24 hours a day.

Health, nutrition and physical activity

It is important for all services to meet children’s nutrition needs and encourage physical activity.

Services must plan carefully to meet each child’s individual needs, including:
- healthy food and beverages
- options that meet dietary requirements, including allergies and cultural needs
- physical activity.
All service environments must be free from tobacco, vaping devices and substances, drugs and alcohol.
Your legal requirements
Read the information below to understand your legal responsibilities and how to comply.
- Food and beverages (Guide to the NQF) – operational guidance
- Weekly menu (Guide to the NQF) – operational guidance
- Healthy lifestyle (Guide to the NQF) – assessment and rating information
- Nutrition, food and beverages, dietary requirements (PDF) – policy and procedure guidelines
- Keeping children’s food safe – includes information on food handling
- Australian Dietary Guidelines
- Healthy Eating Advisory Service – support for preschool and school aged services, including recipes and training
- Get Up & Grow: Healthy eating and physical activity for early childhood
- eLearning from the National Allergy Council – provides the following courses:
  - All about allergens: Training for food service in children’s education and care (suitable for all roles at all services)
  - Managing allergies and other dietary requirements in children’s education and care (for cooks)
- Activated OSHC program – helps OSHC services deliver high-quality physical activity and screen time programming

Sleep and rest

Keeping infants and children safe while they sleep and rest is fundamental.

To ensure safe sleep and rest practices, all services must:
- know the health care needs, risk factors, cultural needs and family preferences for each child enrolled
- conduct regular risk assessments as required under the National Law and Regulations
- have appropriate policies and procedures based on your risk assessments
- provide staff training and induction to maintain current knowledge of regulatory requirements, health guidelines and best practice guidance
- supervise sleeping children, including bed side checks for each child
- perform visual checks of each child’s:
  - sleeping position and body temperature
  - breathing and airway, including their head and face to make sure it is not covered
  - skin and lip colour
- make sure all cots, bedding and equipment are safe and appropriate for children to use and meet all relevant Australian Standards.
Your legal requirements
Read the information below to understand your legal responsibilities and how to comply.
- Sleep and rest (Guide to the NQF) – operational information
- Supervision of sleeping children (Guide to the NQF) – operational information
- Wellbeing and comfort (Guide to the NQF) – lists the relevant National Law and Regulations, and what assessors may observe and sight (assessment and rating)
- Sleep and rest legislative requirements (ACECQA) – QA 2 information on sleep and rest policies and procedures, risk assessment, prohibition of bassinets, best practice sleep guidance, video
- Sleep and rest risk assessment template (PDF)
- Sleep and rest requirement and information – video resource
- Best practice sleep and rest audit tool for education and care settings (Red Nose guidance) (PDF) – this should be used in addition to the ACECQA risk assessment template
- Risks in sleep and rest, and new mandatory infant product standards – covers risks of sleep products and links to more information
- Red Nose Safe Sleep advice hub
- Sleep and rest in outside school hours care

Supervision

Adequate supervision is essential to keeping children safe from harm and hazards.

Adequate supervision means an educator:
- can respond immediately to a child
- knows where children are at all times by monitoring their activities closely.
The number of educators required depends on a range of circumstances, including:
- age and ability of each child
- planning, staff training and coordination
- regular risk assessments to identify areas that require additional supervision
- meeting minimum educator to child ratios and rostering additional staff if required.
Supervision involves more than preventing or responding to potential or actual hazards or harm. It allows staff to assess each child’s abilities and interests and strengthen relationships.
Your legal requirements
Read the information below to understand your legal responsibilities and how to comply.
- Adequate supervision (Guide to the NQF) – operational information for all services, including supervision for:
- Supervision (Guide to the NQF) – lists the relevant National Law and Regulations, what assessors may observe and sight (assessment and rating)
- Active supervision: ensuring safety and promoting learning (PDF) – Information sheet
- Active supervision in 6 steps – step by step practical guidance for services, including links to a printable poster to display in your service
- Adequate supervision (PDF) – infographic
- Educator to child ratios

Excursions and regular outings

Excursions and regular outings form part of the educational program. They provide valuable opportunities for children to explore the wider community.

Excursions are outings organised by the service to a place outside the service. This does not include services located on a school site where an educator is present.
Regular outings include a walk, drive or trip to and from a place:
- that the service visits regularly as part of its educational program
- where the circumstances relevant to the risk assessment are similar on each outing.
All services must:
- have and follow policies and procedures for excursions and regular outings, and make them available to parents
- conduct risk assessments:
  - before each excursion
  - every 12 months for regular outings and transportation, as long as they are almost the same each time
- consider the educator to child ratio required to properly supervise children
- get written authorisation from parents
- manage transport as part of the excursion
- manage health needs, allergies and diagnosed medical conditions.
Your legal requirements
Read the information below to understand your legal responsibilities and how to comply.
- Excursions (Guide to the NQF) – operational information about excursions and regular outings
- Supervising an excursion – operational information, includes regular outings
- Excursions policy and procedure guidelines (PDF)
- Download the Risk assessment and management template – Excursions.
Often transport is used during regular outings and excursions. Please refer to the transporting children section for information on how to comply.

Transporting children

Information on transporting children as part of regular transport or during an excursion.

Organising safe transport for children includes these key steps:
- policies and procedures for transporting children
- educator to child ratio requirements
- first aid requirements
- adequate supervision and protection from harm and hazards
- risk assessments for transportation
- notifying VECRA within 7 days of regular transport being provided or arranged by the service using the NQA ITS system
- written authorisations from parents and carers
- person to be present when children embark and disembark during regular transportation (centre-based services only)
- records of transportation
- passenger safety (including seatbelts, correctly fitted car seats)
- checking the vehicle to ensure no children remain
- insurance.
Your legal requirements
Read the information below to understand your legal responsibilities and how to comply.
- Transportation (Guide to the NQF) – operational requirements
- Regular transportation records (Guide to the NQF) – operational requirements
- Safe transportation of children – Quality Area 2 information sheet
- Guidance for adequate supervision during transportation – Quality Area 2 information sheet
- Safe transportation of children ‘your questions answered’ – Quality Area 2 information sheet
- Minimising the risk of children being left in vehicles – Quality Area 2 information sheet
- Safe transportation of children safety checklist and regular transportation record form (DOCX)
- Transporting children with food allergies

Emergency management

Services must plan and prepare for emergencies so they can respond effectively. This ensures the safety and wellbeing of everyone at the service.

All services must:
- conduct a risk assessment to identify all the potential emergencies at the service
- plan how your service will respond in an emergency
- create emergency and evacuation procedure that give details what to do in an emergency
- display an emergency and evacuation floor plan and instructions near each exit
- rehearse emergency and evacuation procedures every 3 months and keep a record of it.
Your legal requirements
Read the information below to understand your legal responsibilities and how to comply.
- Emergency management in early childhood services – information on:
  o regulatory requirements
  o planning
  o risk assessment
  o templates and resources
- Managing bushfire and grassfire risks in early childhood services
- Emergencies and communication (Guide to the NQF) – operational information
- Communicate with parents and emergency services (Guide to the NQF) – operational information
- Emergency and evacuation – policy and procedure guidelines (PDF)

Managing bushfire and grassfire risks

All providers and services must plan for bushfires and grassfires as part of their emergency management requirements.

Some services are at higher risk of bushfires and grassfires due to their location.
To manage risk, these services:
- are listed on the Department of Education’s Bushfire at Risk Register (BARR) or Category 4 list
- have service approval conditions requiring them to close on days forecast as Catastrophic Fire Danger Rating in their Fire Weather District.
Your legal requirements
To understand your legal responsibilities and how to comply, read: Managing bushfire and grassfire risks in early childhood services.
Find out more about emergency management for NQF services.

Supporting children’s behaviour

Use positive guidance and encouragement to support acceptable behaviour for children.

Approved providers and nominated supervisors must:
- ensure no child is subjected to any form of corporal punishment, or unreasonable discipline
- take reasonable steps to ensure children receive positive guidance and encouragement towards acceptable behaviour
- have a policy and procedure that covers interactions with children
- focus on educators developing strong, positive relationships with children.
Your legal requirements
Read the information below to understand your legal responsibilities and how to comply.
- Inappropriate discipline (Guide to the NQF) – operational information
- Inappropriate discipline – Quality Area 5 information sheet
- Supporting children to regulate their own behaviour – Quality Area 5 information sheet
- Interactions with children (PDF) – policy and procedure guidelines
- Relationships with children – Quality Area 5 information sheet

Risk management

Identifying, assessing, and managing risks is essential to the health and safety of children.

All services must make sure risk management applies to:
- daily hazard and risk identification – indoor and outdoor learning environments
- learning experience planning
- supervision routines
- excursions
- transportation
- sleep and rest.
Your legal requirements
Read the information below to understand your legal responsibilities and how to comply.
All these resources are available on the Children's health and safety – Quality Area 2 page under the ‘Risk assessment and management tool’ tab. You can also download infographics and posters.

Early childhood

Updated 1 June 2026