In Focus

August 2025

Regulatory Spotlight

Report a Concern poster

Earlier this month, ECRU distributed a poster to all services, which you should have received via email. Services and family day care educators are encouraged to display this poster alongside their prescribed information to promote the transparency in the complaint process.

As the poster highlights, the intent is for families to raise any concerns at the service or provider level to enable a quick and effective resolution in line with service policies and procedures. If a resolution cannot be reached, or if there is a serious safety concern, the poster included ECRU's contact details, including a QR code linking directly to our website. These should be promoted to help build confidence in your service and the broader education and care system.

Authorised officers will be distributing hard copies of this poster during their visits. If you have any questions, please contact ECRU or speak with the officer during their visit.

It's great to hear that authorised officers who are visiting services have already started seeing this poster displayed on their notice boards. 

Here’s the link to the poster again in case you missed it. Thank you for helping to promote more open and transparent communication in the sector. 

Guidance on authorised officers using

Department of Communities-issued devices

When attending services, it is standard practice for authorised officers to bring Communities-issued devices to ensure they have the necessary tools for documenting evidence and reporting. These devices are used for:

• Completing electronic checklists
• Taking photos for evidence purposes
• Accessing resources
• Communication with other Communities staff.

Authorised officers are not permitted to use their personal devices while onsite.

The post-approval checklists are now available on the ECRU website. A post- approval visit generally occurs around three months after a new service has commenced operating.

The post-approval visit has been restructured to monitor compliance across ECRU’s regulatory priorities to ensure approved providers are operating in accordance with their regulatory obligations. It is expected that this visit could take several hours, and approved providers are encouraged to use the checklist to support preparation and ongoing compliance.

Compliance Monitoring Checklists

Revised compliance monitoring checklists are also available for use as a self-auditing tool, or to simply review what is expected during a compliance monitoring visit.

Regulatory priorities for ECRU continue to focus on child safety and wellbeing, due to ongoing and increased non-compliance in areas such as supervision, harm and hazard, and interactions with children. Approved providers are encouraged to ensure that all educators are aware that, during a visit, authorised officers will spend some time observing their practice as part of the checklist requirements.

Risk assessment example template

Emergencies and evacuations

The Education and Care Services National Regulations 2012 (the National Regulations) require services to ‘ensure that a risk assessment is conducted to identify potential emergencies that are relevant to the service’ (regulation 97(2)). This risk assessment identifies potential emergencies relevant to the individual service and outlines actions (control measures) to minimise or manage identified risks during or following an emergency. The risk assessment and associated control measures will inform the service's emergency and evacuation procedures, which will be rehearsed at the service in accordance with regulation 97 of the National Regulations.

This template is intended to assist services in undertaking risk assessments to identify potential emergencies relevant to their service. The examples provided within the template are not exhaustive and are intended as guidance only. They must be adapted to reflect the service's location and unique context to be effective.

The template should be used as an opportunity to critically reflect on - and where necessary, improve - current risk assessment documents, processes, and practices. Approved providers are strongly encouraged to consult relevant authorities who have expert knowledge in the development and review of emergency and evacuation risk assessments (in line with Element 2.2.2 of the National Quality Standard).

From 17 - 23 August 2025 Australia will celebrate National Book Week. With children dressing up as their favourite characters and participating in themed activities and parades, the week will be a fantastic opportunity to celebrate literacy and imagination. While in the celebrations, it’s important to put safety first. Below are some tips from Consumer Protection this book week:

• Costumes can come with light up components, when this is the case more than likely button batteries are involved. Make sure the compartment housing the button battery is child-resistant and secured with a screw. Button batteries can be life threatening if a child swallow one or sticks them in their mouth, nose, or ear.
• With DIY dress ups, children tend to compile items from around the house to create their costumes. Ensure that small parts cannot detach from the designs, otherwise this may create an isolated choking hazard for other children in the centre. Check out the DIY choke checker tool to identify whether an item or product will pose a risk.
• If the character dress up involves face paint, check the ingredients and consider doing a patch test as skin irritation and reactions can occur. It is a legal requirement for ingredients to be listed on these products.

We hope you have a wonderful book week! Read more about Consumer Protection.  Head over to Product Safety Australia to view the latest product safety updates.

Help track respiratory illness in your community!

FluTracking is a short weekly survey that helps track flu, COVID-19 and RSV across Australia. It only takes 30 seconds to complete and helps identify where illness is spreading in the community.

Anyone can take part—just report if you or someone in your household has had symptoms each week. Your input helps improve public health responses and keep communities safer—especially during flu season.

It’s quick, anonymous, and helps keep your community safe.

Sign up or read more at👉FluTracking

Happy, healthy kids need bursts of energetic play, every day

One of the longest running studies on children’s movement behaviours, health and development has revealed that most young Australian children (95%) do not get enough daily energetic play in early learning settings to support their health and development.  

What is energetic play, and why does this matter?  Energetic play gets children huffing and puffing. It’s an opportunity to blow off steam in short bursts over the day. This promotes healthy bone, muscle, and brain development, along with coordination and learning benefits. Children who get enough energetic play each day are better able to sleep, focus, and regulate their behaviour and mood.  

How much is enough? Did you know that Australia has 24-hour movement guidelines – birth to 5 years – brochure? Play Active researchers helped develop these guidelines, which includes advice that children aged 3-5 should have at last 180 minutes of physical activity, including 60 minutes of energetic play spread over the day. More is better!

The Play Active program has been developed to promote energetic play in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and helps services meet and exceed Quality Area 2.1: ‘Each child’s health and physical activity is supported and promoted.’  Developed in collaboration with ECEC and researchers, Play Active offers fun, fast, and free professional development for Educators across Australia who can access short training videos through the Play Active website. Certification is for two years. 

Services can sign up as members which includes a tailored Play Active policy, resource pack, tips, activities, QIPs and webinars. Please visit the Play Active website to learn more and follow us on Facebook or Instagram for weekly active play ideas in ECEC. 

Your Employee Rights

Do you work for an education and care service? If so, you may be covered by the Western Australia Reportable Conduct Scheme (Scheme).

The Scheme requires childcare providers to notify the Ombudsman of allegations of child abuse by their employees and then investigate these allegations.

If you are subject to a reportable conduct investigation, you have the right to be heard and respond to allegations about you.

Your employer must:

1. Let you know that you are being investigated, give you the details of the reportable allegation being investigated, and give you the chance to respond;
2. Inform you of any proposed adverse findings or actions they want to take against you (prior to them being applied), and give you the chance to respond; and
3. At the end of the investigation, provide you with a letter advising you that:

• The reportable conduct investigation has ended;
• The reportable conduct findings of the investigation; and
• The reasons for those findings.

Substantiated reportable conduct findings will be notified to the Ombudsman. We may report substantiated findings to the Working with Children Screening Unit, who can conduct a review of your Working with Children Card.

Further information about the Scheme, is available online at:

https://www.ombudsman.wa.gov.au/index.html

Or for clarification and guidance, talk to the Ombudsman’s Reportable Conduct team, which can be contacted by telephone on (08) 9220 7471 or by email: reportableconduct@ombudsman.wa.gov.au.