Emergencies can happen at any time. It is important for services to be prepared so they can respond quickly and keep everyone safe. All early childhood education and care services must have emergency policies and procedures in place.
These must include:
- instructions for what must be done in the event of an emergency,
- an emergency and evacuation floor plan, and
- reviewing and testing emergency plans every 3 months
Prepare for the 2026–27 high-risk weather season
Now is a good time to review your service’s emergency management planning and preparedness by:
- reviewing and updating your emergency and evacuation policy and procedures, or Emergency Management Plan, to reflect changes at your service
- undertaking joint planning and drills with any organisations or services that share your site
- confirming that your service approval shows the correct address, including the street number
- checking your service approval conditions and any requirements that apply to your service
- reviewing local emergency risks and recent incidents that may affect your service
- making sure staff know where to find current warnings and understand what action to take during an emergency
- notifying VECRA as soon as practicable if your service needs to close, particularly when an emergency has damaged the premises
Kindergartens are encouraged to read the Kindergarten Funding Guide for information on voluntary closures.
Check your bushfire risk (BARR) and grassfire (Category 4) risk
The Department of Education works with CSIRO to assess and manage bushfire risk for schools and early childhood services. For 2026–27, services have been assessed using a mapping tool and specialised guidance developed for Victorian education facilities using current national and state bushfire data.
- Services assessed as being at the highest risk of bushfire are placed on the Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR) (Categories 0, 1, 2 and 3).
- Services assessed as being at some risk of bushfire or grassfire are listed as Category 4
Newer approved services may not yet appear online as part of this annual review. If you are not on the websites above, check your service approval conditions (you can find these by searching the ACECQA website). Always follow your service approval conditions.
Family day care services
While family day care services are not individually assessed for bushfire or grassfire risk and are not included on the BARR or Category 4 list, approved providers must:
- assess the fire danger risk for educators and children attending FDC residences and venues
- take appropriate steps to manage identified fire risks
The CFA provides information and resources to help assess and manage bushfire and grassfire risk.
Emergency management resources
You should use reliable emergency information sources and make sure staff know how to access them. Useful resources include:
- Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) – local floods, storms and other emergency information and educational resources.
- Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) – weather forecasts and warnings.
- Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS) – daily fire danger ratings and information for your fire weather district.
- Emergency+ app – GPS location information to assist when contacting emergency services.
- VicEmergency app – current Victorian warnings and incidents, preparedness information and watch zones
Further guidance
Updated