Sector Update 

Two-year-old child found unsupervised beside a road

whilst on an excursion with a Baldivis education and care service

June 2025

The Learning

Approved providers must ensure their staff follow the service’s policies, procedures and risk assessments regarding adequately supervising children during regular outing excursions. Reasonable precautions should always be taken into consideration.

The Education and Care Services National Regulations 2012 defines a regular outing in relation to an education and care service, means a walk, drive or trip to and from a destination -

(a) that the service visits regularly as part of its educational program; and

(b) where the circumstances relevant to the risk assessment are substantially the same on each outing.

Regulation 100(4) does not require a risk assessment for an excursion if the excursion is a regular outing; and a risk assessment has been conducted not more than 12 months before the excursion is to occur.

However, the approved provider should consider whether it is a reasonable precaution to conduct a risk assessment prior to each regular outing excursion. The regular outing excursion may not be substantially the same on each occasion due to one or more of the following factors:

• age and development of children in attendance
• educator to child ratios are determined based on individual children's needs - are more educators needed in addition to minimum requirements?
• day of the week and time
• activities undertaken
• qualifications, experience and knowledge of educators supervising children
• other issues such as the arrival and departure time of children.

A regular outing excursion should not be conducted prior to considering the risk factors on the day. Prior planning and review is essential to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of children and, in particular, providing adequate supervision.

Failure to adequately supervise children can potentially have fatal consequences. Parents are entitled to trust their children are being supervised and protected from harm when attending an education and care service.

The Education and Care Regulatory Unit (ECRU) has regularly issued communications to the education and care sector regarding inadequate supervision, including a recently launched Think It Through short video and an Active supervision factsheet. Approved providers and services may also refer to resources available on the ACECQA website on Excursion Policy Guidelines and 6 Reasonable steps to ensure staff follow policies and procedures.

The Incident

A Department of Communities investigation found that in September 2024, a two-year-old child was unsupervised whilst on an excursion to a reserve with Aspire Early Education and Kindergarten Baldivis. The decision to take a group of children on an excursion that afternoon was made spontaneously in response to what was described as “big behaviours” by some older children.

The child left the group unnoticed and walked approximately 60-70 meters across the reserve to a road with a speed limit of 70 km/h. The child was standing on the kerb when a Transperth bus had to slow down and swerve as they passed the child.

A motorist following behind the bus saw the child was alone and stopped his car, picked up the child, and then escorted the child back to the excursion group.

The Penalty

The approved provider, Aspire Early Education and Kindergarten Baldivis Pty Ltd was ordered to pay a total of $47,000 including costs by the State Administrative Tribunal for contravening the National Law.  

• Contravening Section 165(1) of the National Law, for an offence relating to the inadequate supervision of a child.
• Contravening Section 167(1) of the National Law, for an offence relating to the protection of children from harm and hazards.

More information on the SAT order is available on the eCourts website.