In Focus

Regulatory Spotlight

January-March 2024 Top 10 Non-Compliances

From January to March 2024 there was a decrease of 26% in the number of non-compliances in WA, compared with quarter 4, 2023.  Listed are the top 10 non-compliances in relation to the Education and Care Services National Law (WA) Act 2012 and Education and Care Services National Regulations 2012 for this quarter. 

We have included some reflective questions and prompts for consideration to support your service to comply.

1. Regulation 103 Premises, furniture and equipment to be safe, clean and in good repair.

• Are outdoor spaces shaded adequately in accordance with the recommendations of relevant recognised authorities for protection from the sun?
• Do you have and consistently implement documented procedures for undertaking building and equipment maintenance?
• Do educators regularly conduct and document safety checks and monitor the maintenance of buildings and equipment and report this to the approved provider?
• Do all educators follow safety advice from recognised authorities and manufacturers when using and arranging equipment, furniture and experiences?
• Are all areas used by children regularly cleaned?
• Is the storage of hazardous chemicals and items adequate to prevent access to children?
• Are risk assessments of the physical environment completed and reviewed regularly? 

2. Regulation 97 Emergency and evacuation procedures

• Has a risk assessment been conducted to identify potential emergencies that are relevant to the service? Is this documented and reviewed at least every 12 months or as soon as practicable after becoming aware of circumstances that may affect the safe evacuation of children?
• Do you have a system such as a calendar reminder to prompt the completion of required rehearsals?
• Do you have a system to report all rehearsals to the approved provider to monitor completion?
• Are you rehearsing an evacuation, a lock down and any other types of identified emergencies at least every 3 months?
• Is the risk assessment and rehearsal documents available at the service?
• Is the service's emergency and evacuation floor plan and instructions displayed in a prominent position near each exit as per the exits identified on the plan? 

3. Section 172 Prescribed information to be displayed

4. Section 165 Offence to inadequately supervise children

5. Section 167 Offence relating to protection of children from harm and hazards

6. Section 175 Offence relating to requirement to keep enrolment and other documents

7. Regulation 102 Authorisation for excursions

8. Regulation 369 Educator to child ratios—children over preschool age

9. Regulation 151 Record of educators working directly with children

10. Regulation 180 Evidence of prescribed insurance

Please refer to previous ‘In Focus’ publications and sample templates on the Education and Care Regulatory Unit (ECRU) website and Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) website to support your service to comply.

Unannounced Compliance Monitoring Visits 

Commencing mid-May, authorised officers (AO) will begin using revised compliance checklists during unannounced visits. The intention of the new checklists is to strengthen a risk-based approach to compliance monitoring. Checklists will include regulatory updates to enable monitoring of the sector's understanding of their obligations and subsequent compliance, as well as identified trends and potential risks to children.

It is expected that in some instances where transportation and excursions are provided the checklist will take longer to complete in comparison to previous checklists. To assist services with the visit, authorised officers will provide a list of documents they require to review when they arrive at the service. You may choose to take some time to locate and make these documents accessible while the AO completes other parts of the checklist across the service.

Copies of the revised checklists will be made available on the ECRU website from mid-May for services to access and use as a self-auditing tool or to simply review and know what to expect at a compliance monitoring visit.

Does your service require a Safe Arrival of Children policy?

• ensure the service has policies and procedures in place for the safe arrival of children who travel between an education and care service and any other education or early childhood service.
• conduct a risk assessment at least once every 12 months, and as soon as practicable after becoming aware of any circumstance that may affect the safe arrival of children travelling between an education and care service and any other education or early childhood service.
• More information is available on the ACECQA Safe Arrival of Children Factsheet.

Staffing Waivers (temporary) - Regulation 126

The WA Regulatory Authority requires the approved provider to submit the name/s and a current resume of the nominated educator/s who will be working in place of a qualified educator during the approved waiver period. Please note, while more than one educator may be nominated, only one nominated educator may work in place of a qualified educator at any given time.

In assessing a waiver application, a regulatory authority will consider:

• staff details, including rosters and qualifications
• evidence of recruitment including, advertising, contact with recruitment agencies and the outcomes of recruitment attempts
• evidence of progress towards relevant qualifications
• strategies in place to attract, upskill and retain staff
• name and current resume of the person named to act in place of a diploma qualified educator
• what the service is doing to meet the immediate staffing shortfall.

All staffing waiver applications should include the completed checklist available on the ECRU website.

Mandatory Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse

As the expansion of mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse to early childhood workers on 1 November 2024 gets closer, the Department of Communities (Communities) encourages those impacted to consider the training opportunities available. You can read more about Mandatory Reporting in Western Australia and access an online course that is available for all mandatory reporters here.

Communities is also offering face-to-face/webinar training for early childhood workers, to be held across a range of locations and times (including evenings). Please visit Eventbrite to register for a session. The training will be delivered by Communities Mandatory Reporting Service and Education and Care Regulatory Unit. This training is an alternative to the online course and will broadly cover the same content, however these sessions are a great opportunity to learn with your colleagues and ask questions.

Support services

Be aware that the training contains information about child sexual abuse which may elicit strong feelings and questions from some people. Although there are no case scenarios included in the training, there is direct language.

Please note there are support services and groups available to assist in dealing with these feelings and questions. Some options include:

• 1800 Respect  |  Call 1800 737 732  | or visit www.1800respect.org.au
• Lifeline  |  Call 13 11 14  |  or visit www.lifeline.org.au.

There may be other options available within your organisation, such as Employee Assistance Programs. If you have any concerns, please speak with your manager.

If you have any questions about mandatory reporting or the sessions, please contact RCMRexpansion@communities.wa.gov.au.

National Allergy Council Best Practice Guidelines for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)  

ACECQA have a new blog post outlining what it means to be an allergy aware service aligning with national Education and Care Legislative Requirements. This post includes some discussion points for services to explore with their teams.

For more information contact the National Allergy Council information email address hello@nationalallergy.org.au

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