Description of the Regulation/Section

Transcription

1 SELECTED NATIONAL REGULATIONS & SECTIONS OF THE NATIONAL LAW Topic Public liability insurance Classes of persons granted supervisor certificate without application Responsible persons required to be present Description of the Under Regulation 29, education and care service providers as a condition of their service approval must: have current public liability insurance for a minimum of $10 million; or be covered by an indemnity against public liability provided by a state or territory government (this will mostly be relevant to government providers). For family day care services, the provider must also ensure that each family day care educator holds current public liability insurance for a minimum of $10 million (see Regulation 30). Providers and family day care educators must keep a record of their insurance at the service premises or family day care residence and make it available to the Department of Education and Communities (the NSW Regulatory Authority) or an authorised officer on request (see Regulation 180). Note that these obligations do not apply if the service is covered by a government indemnity. Under Regulation 49, the Regulatory Authority can grant a supervisor certificate under 114 of the National Law to the following classes of persons, without the need for an application: a principal of a school that provides an education and care service at the school; a person in charge of a campus of a school that provides an education and care service at that campus. This regulation recognises that these classes of persons are considered to be fit and proper and to have the required qualifications, experience and management capability to be granted a supervisor certificate. Regulation 50 specifies that a supervisor certificate issued to a person in these classes must specify the name of the approved education and care service and the name of the school that provides the service. The National Law requires the provider of an education and care service to ensure that, at all times that the service is educating and caring for children, one of the following persons is present (for a centre-based service) or available to provide support (for a family day care service): the approved provider; or the nominated supervisor; or a person with a supervisor certificate (a certified supervisor ) who has been placed in day to day charge of the service. Being placed in day to day charge of the service means the certified supervisor has accepted a written designation to be in day to Regulation 29 Regulation 30 Regulation 49 Regulation and 164 1

2 Quality improvement plans Rating levels under the National Quality Standard Description of the day charge of the service by the approved provider or the nominated supervisor (Regulation 54). Available to provide support (for a family day care service) includes being available by telephone. Regulation 55(1) requires all approved providers to ensure that a quality improvement plan is developed for each service the provider operates. The quality improvement plan must: include an assessment by the provider of the quality of the practices of the service against the National Quality Standard and the National Regulations; and identify any areas that the provider considers may require improvement; and contain a statement of the philosophy of the service. Regulation 55(2) requires providers to submit the quality improvement plan to the Department of Education and Communities (the Regulatory Authority in NSW) within three months of the grant of service approval. This means that providers of all new services approved after 1 January 2012, including outside school hours care services, will have three months from the date of their service approval to provide the Department with a copy of their quality improvement plan. Regulation 238 is a general transitional provision, which says that the approved provider of a declared approved service must prepare a quality improvement plan in accordance with Regulation 55(1) by 30 April However, the provider does not need to submit it to the Regulatory Authority (but it must be available to the Regulatory Authority on request after that date). In NSW, a declared approved service means a service approved under the NSW Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, prior to the National Quality Framework commencing on 1 January A guide to developing a quality improvement plan is available on the Australian Children s Education and Care Quality Authority website at: Until a service is first assessed, it will have a rating of Provisional Not Yet Assessed under the National Quality Framework (see Regulation 58). Regulation 57 specifies the different rating levels that may be given for each quality area, and overall, following an assessment: Significant Improvement Required Working Towards National Quality Standard Meeting National Quality Standard Exceeding National Quality Standard Excellent. Regulation 55 Regulation 238 Regulation

3 Description of the Regulations specify the circumstances in which these different ratings are given. Significant Improvement Required rating (Regulation 59): Given for a quality area if the service does not meet that quality area, or a relevant regulation, in a way that the Regulatory Authority is satisfied constitutes an unacceptable risk to the safety, health or wellbeing of any child or children being educated and cared for by the service. Given as the overall rating if this rating is given for any quality area. Working Towards National Quality Standard rating (Regulation 60): Given for a quality area if the service does not meet a standard in that quality area, or a relevant regulation, but is not rated as Significant Improvement Required. Given for the overall rating if this rating is given for any quality area. Meeting National Quality Standard rating (Regulation 61): Given for a quality area if the service meets the standards and the relevant regulations for that quality area. Given for the overall rating if the service s quality area ratings are all either Meeting National Quality Standard or Exceeding National Quality Standard (but the service does not meet the requirements for an overall rating of Exceeding National Quality Standard under Regulation 62). Exceeding National Quality Standard rating (Regulation 62): Given for a quality area when a service exceeds the standards and complies with the relevant regulations for that quality area. Note that if a service is caring for preschool age children it can only be given this rating for Quality Area 1 (Educational program and practice) if the service either provides a preschool program, or has a documented arrangement with another approved service to provide a preschool program and informs parents of this arrangement. Given for the overall rating if the service has either received this rating for all seven quality areas, or if the service has received this rating for four or more quality areas, including at least two of the following - educational program and practice, relationships with children, collaborative partnerships with families and communities, and leadership and service management areas; and has received a Meeting National Quality Standard rating for each other quality area. Excellent rating (see 152 of the National Law): A service must apply to ACECQA for a rating of Excellent. The service must be currently rated overall as Exceeding National 3

4 Quality Standard to apply. Description of the Self-administration of medication Excursions Indoor space requirements Regulation 96 allows a service provider to permit a child over preschool age to self-administer medication if (a) a written authorisation for the child to self-administer medication is recorded in the child s medication record (under Regulation 92); and (b) the service s policy for medical conditions includes practices for self-administration of medication. Related Regulations outline the requirements for the administration of medication to children more generally. Note that under Regulation 94, in the case of an anaphylaxis or asthma emergency, medication may be administered without an authorisation. However, the child s parent and emergency services must be notified as soon as practicable. Regulation 100 requires the approved provider, nominated supervisor and (for family day care services) the family day care educator to ensure that a risk assessment is carried out before an authorisation for an excursion is sought. Regulation 101 sets out what must be covered by the risk assessment. Separate risk assessments do not need to be carried out for a regular excursion (referred to as a regular outing ), provided a risk assessment has been carried out for the excursion, and the circumstances of the excursion have not changed since the most recent risk assessment. Regulation 102 requires the approved provider, nominated supervisor and (for family day care services) the family day care educator to ensure that children are not taken on an excursion unless authorisation has been given by a parent or other person named in the child s enrolment record. Regulation 102 sets out what information must be included in the authorisation. If an excursion is a regular outing, the authorisation only needs to be obtained once every 12 months. Regular outing is defined in Regulation 4 as a walk, drive or trip to and from a destination that a service visits regularly as part of its educational program, and where the circumstances relevant to the risk assessment are the same on each outing. A centre-based service provider must ensure that for each child being educated and cared for the premises have at least 3.25 square metres of unencumbered indoor space. To be unencumbered indoor space the space cannot include: passageways; bathrooms and nappy change areas; food preparation areas; spaces permanently set aside for the use or storage of cots; staff or administrative rooms or areas; storage areas; and any other space not suitable for children. Kitchen areas cannot be counted unless they are primarily used by the children as part of an educational program. Verandahs can be counted only with the written approval of the Regulatory Authority, and if they are not included as part of the outdoor space calculation. Regulation 96 Regulation 101 Regulation 102 Regulation 107 Regulations

5 Outdoor space requirements Educational leader Family day care educator and Description of the This regulation is an offence provision. In addition, a compliance direction can be issued for failure to comply with this requirement. Providers can apply for a service waiver or temporary waiver from this regulation. Note that there are also some NSW-specific transitional provisions relevant to regulation 107 see Division 6 of Part 7.3 of the National Regulations (Regulations ). A centre-based service provider must ensure that for each child being educated and cared for the premises have at least 7 square metres of unencumbered outdoor space. To be unencumbered outdoor space the space cannot include: pathways or thoroughfares (except where used as part of an education program); car parks; storage sheds; verandahs that are already included in indoor space calculations; or any other space that is not suitable for children. For services that cater for children over preschool age, outdoor space calculations can include unencumbered indoor space - but only with the written approval of the regulatory authority and where the area was not included as part of the indoor space calculation. This regulation is an offence provision. In addition, a compliance direction can be issued for failure to comply with this requirement. Providers can apply for a service waiver or temporary waiver from this regulation. Note that there are also some NSW-specific transitional provisions relevant to regulation 108 see Division 6 of Part 7.3 of the National Regulations (Regulations ). From 1 January 2012, approved providers of all education and care services regulated under the National Law and Regulations will be required to designate, in writing, a suitably qualified and experienced educator, coordinator or other individual as educational leader at the service to lead the development and implementation of educational programs at each approved service the provider operates. A provider may be issued with a compliance notice for failure to comply with this requirement. The National Regulations do not specify that the educational leader must have a particular, approved qualification. The approved provider will need to consider what qualifications and experience a person has in deciding whether they are a suitable person to designate as the educational leader of the service. A person may hold multiple roles under the National Law and Regulations, therefore a person may be both the educational leader and the nominated supervisor of a service, or the educational leader and the family day care coordinator, for example. The name of the educational leader must be displayed at the service (Regulation 173) and included in the staff record (Regulations 145 and 154). Regulation 119 requires providers of family day care services to ensure that their educators and any educator assistants are at least 18 years old. Regulation 108 Regulations Regulation 118 Regulation 119 5

6 assistant to be at least 18 years old Educators under 18 to be supervised Educators must be working directly with children to be included in ratios Educator to child ratios centre-based services Description of the Regulation 119 is an offence provision. In addition, a compliance direction can be issued for failure to comply with this requirement. Regulation 120 requires the providers of centre-based services to ensure that any of their educators who are under 18 years of age do not work alone at the service and are adequately supervised at all times by an educator who is above 18. Regulation 120 is an offence provision. In addition, a compliance direction can be issued for failure to comply with this requirement. Under Regulation 122, an educator can only be included in calculating the educator to child ratio where the educator is working directly with children at the service. Working directly with children means being physically present with the children and being directly engaged in providing education and care to them (see Regulation 13). It is recognised that backfilling educators in centre-based services while they are on short breaks is difficult. The approach of Regulatory Authorities will be to allow each educator to take up to 30 minutes off the floor per day without being backfilled for example, for personal hygiene, meal breaks or to take personal phone calls without the service being considered in breach of prescribed ratio requirements. However, at all times the overarching consideration must be the needs of the children and adequate supervision must be maintained at all times. This position is set out in the Guide to the National Law and Regulations that has been published by ACECQA, available on the ACECQA website: Regulation 123 sets the educator-to-child ratios for centre-based services educating and caring for children who are preschool age or under. Regulations 271 and 275 are NSW-specific saving and transitional provisions which affect the operation of Regulation 123. From 1 January 2012, the ratio for children from birth to 24 months of age is one educator to four children (1:4). This is set out in regulation 123(1)(a). As the national ratio for this age group is the same as the current ratio in NSW, there are no saving or transitional provisions affecting this ratio. From 1 January 2016, the ratio for children over 24 months and less than 36 months is one educator to five children (1:5). This is set out in Regulation 123(1)(b). From 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2015, the current ratio of one educator to eight children (1:8) will continue to apply in NSW. This is set out in Regulation 275, which is a NSW-specific transitional provision. From 1 January 2012, the ratio for children 36 months or more but less than six years of age will remain at one educator to ten children (1:10) in NSW. This is set out in regulation 271, which is a NSW-specific saving provision. The ratio set out in regulation 123(1)(c) does not apply in NSW. NB: There are no educator-to-child ratios for NSW centre-based services educating and caring for children who are over preschool age. Regulation 120 Regulation 122 Regulation 123 Regulation 271 Regulation 275 6

7 Number of children who can be educated and cared for family day care educator Requirement for early childhood teacher centrebased services fewer than 25 approved places Requirement for early childhood teacher - centre based services 25 or more approved places but fewer than 25 children Requirement for early childhood teacher centrebased services 25 to 29 children Description of the Regulation 124 sets out the educator-to-child ratio for family day care services. Regulation 276 is a NSW-specific transitional provision which affects the operation of Regulation 124. From 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013, the current ratio of one family day care educator to every seven children between birth and 12 years of age (1:7), including a maximum of five children not yet attending school, will continue to apply. This transitional arrangement is set out in Regulation 276. Under Regulation 124, from 1 January 2014 the ratio for family day care services will be one family day care educator to seven children between birth and 13 years of age (1:7), with a maximum of four children preschool age or under. This includes the family day care educator s own children, unless another adult is present and caring for the children. A centre-based service with fewer than 25 approved places for children preschool age or under is required to have access to an early childhood teacher for at least 20 per cent of the time that the service provides education and care. This period can be calculated on a quarterly basis. The early childhood teacher can work with the service via information communication technology to satisfy this requirement. This regulation does not apply until 1 January 2014 (see Regulation 279). This regulation requires a centre-based service with 25 or more places for children preschool age or under to comply with Regulation 130 (which generally applies to services with fewer than 25 places) during any period that it educates and cares for fewer than 25 children. Under Regulation 130, a service is required to have access to an early childhood teacher for at least 20 per cent of the time that the service provides education and care, calculated on a quarterly basis. Regulation 131 also allows a service to include any period of attendance by an early childhood teacher under Regulation 132 (which applies when the service educates and cares for 25 or more children) when calculating the period of access to an early childhood teacher when there are fewer than 25 children. Regulation 131 does not apply until 1 January 2014 (see Regulation 279). Regulation 132 requires a centre-based service educating and caring for children preschool age or under to have an early childhood teacher in attendance 6 hours per day (if the service operates 50 hours or more per week) or 60% of its daily operating hours (if operating for less than 50 hours per week), calculated on a daily basis. Alternatively, the service may employ or engage at least one full time early childhood teacher. This regulation does not apply until 1 January 2014 (see Regulation 279). Regulation 124 Regulation 276 Regulation 130 Regulation 279 Regulation 130 Regulation 131 Regulation 132 Regulation 279 Regulation 132 Regulation 272 7

8 Early childhood teacher illness or absence First aid qualifications Family day care educator assistant Description of the Note that in NSW, regulation 132 only applies to services with children in attendance. This is because Regulation 272 applies in place of Regulation 132 to services with 30 or more children. Regulation 272 maintains existing early childhood teacher requirements in NSW. Regulation 135 allows a person who holds an approved diploma qualification or primary teaching qualification to be taken to be an early childhood teacher, for the purposes of regulations 132, 133 and 134, when an early childhood teacher is absent from a service due to short term illness or leave (not exceeding 12 weeks). Regulations 132, 133 and 134 set out general early childhood teacher requirements under the National Quality Framework. Regulations 133 and 134 do not apply in NSW because we are retaining our existing requirements for early childhood teachers to be in attendance at all times a service is educating and caring for 30 or more children preschool age and under. Regulation 132 only applies to services in NSW educating and caring for 29 or fewer children preschool age and under, for this same reason. NSW is retaining its existing early childhood teacher requirements by means of Regulation 272, which is a NSW-specific saving provision. These arrangements mean that Regulation 135 only applies to services in NSW educating and caring for 29 or fewer children preschool age and under. It does not apply to services in NSW educating and caring for 30 or more children preschool age and under, to which Regulation 272 applies. Regulation 136 requires at least one educator who holds an approved first aid qualification and has completed approved anaphylaxis management training and approved emergency asthma management training to be in attendance whenever children are being educated and cared for by an education and care service. In NSW, the requirements relating to anaphylaxis and asthma management training will not apply until 1 January 2013 (see transitional provisions set out in Regulations 246 and 247). A person who holds a first aid qualification approved under the Children s Services Regulation 2004 will be taken to hold an approved first aid qualification under Regulation 136 until the qualification expires, or 31 December 2012, whichever is earlier (see Regulation 245). The Australian Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) is responsible for approving first aid qualifications and anaphylaxis and asthma management training, and for publishing a list of approved qualifications and training on their website: Regulation 144 permits the approved provider of a family day care service to approve a person to assist a family day care educator in providing education and care to children as part of a family day care service. An approved provider can only approve a person as a family day care educator assistant if the family day care educator has provided the written consent of the parents of each child who is Regulation 135 Regulation 272 Regulation 136 Regulation 245 Regulation 246 Regulation 247 Regulation 144 8

9 Policies and procedures educated and cared for by that educator. Description of the A family day care educator assistant must be at least 18 years of age (Regulation 119) and have a current working with children check (Regulation 163), be registered with or engaged by the family day care service (Regulation 4) and meet the first aid qualifications and training requirements set out in Regulation 136. Regulation 144(2) sets out in detail the very limited circumstances in which a family day care educator assistant can educate and care for children in the absence of the family day care educator. Those circumstances include: transporting a child between the family day care residence and a school, another service, or the child s home emergency situations, including where the family day care educator requires urgent medical treatment while the family day care educator is attending an appointment (other than a regular appointment) if the absence is less than four hours, and the approved provider of the service has approved the absence, and the parents of the children have been notified of the absence. The National Regulations do not refer to a family day care relief educator, however, there is nothing in the Law or Regulations to prevent a family day care educator from relieving another family day care educator from educating and caring for children in a family day care residence. However, the relief educator would need to meet the requirements to be a family day care educator. That is, the person would have to be over 18 years of age and have a current working with children check, be registered with the family day care service, meet the first aid qualifications and training requirements set out in Regulation 136, and (from 1 January 2014) meet the minimum qualification requirements set out in Regulation 127. Regulation 168 applies to all services. It requires the approved provider of an education and care service to ensure that the service has in place policies and procedures in relation to specific matters listed in that regulation. Regulation 169 requires the approved provider of a family day care service to ensure that the service has in place policies and procedures in relation to some additional, family day care-specific matters. Regulation 168(2)(m) requires policies to be in place concerning the acceptance and refusal of authorisations. The National Regulations require service providers (and in some instances, nominated supervisors and family day care educators) to ensure that an authorisation is obtained from parents in certain circumstances. For example, the Regulations stipulate an authorisation must be obtained for medication to be administered to a child at an education and care service (Regulation 93), and an authorisation must be obtained for a child to leave the premises of a service with a person who is not a parent of the child (Regulation 99). A policy on the acceptance and refusal of authorisations would set out the circumstances in which an authorisation is required, and the criteria by which the service decides whether or not to accept the authorisation. For example, the policy might require that the Regulation 168 Regulation 169 9

10 Documents to be kept by approved provider Documents to be kept by family day care educator Storage of records Description of the authorisation is signed and dated and clearly identifies the circumstances to which it relates. Regulation 177 is relevant to all education and care services. Regulation 177(1) prescribes documents that must be kept by the approved provider of an education and care service and made available for inspection by an authorised officer, under section 175(1) of the National Law. The prescribed documents include: Child enrolment records Child attendance records Documentation of child assessments or evaluation for delivery of the educational program Staff records Regulation 177(5) specifies that the approved provider of a family day care service is not required to keep a document if an equivalent record is kept by a family day care educator under Regulation 178. Regulation 178(1) prescribes documents that must be kept by a family day care educator and made available for inspection by an authorised officer, under section 175(3) of the National Law. The prescribed documents include: Child enrolment records Child attendance records Documentation of child assessments or evaluation for delivery of the educational program Records of visitors to the family day care residence Regulation 183(1) requires all approved providers to ensure that the records and documents set out in Regulation 177 are stored in a safe and secure place for a specified period. Regulation 183(2) sets out particular documents and records and states how long they must be kept for. For example, if a record relates to an approved provider it must be kept until the end of three years after the last date on which the approved provider operated the service. A child s enrolment record must be kept until the end of three years after the last date on which the child was educated and cared for by the service. However, if a document or record relates to an incident, illness, injury, trauma or the death of a child, it will need to be kept for a longer period. Regulation 177 Regulation 178 Regulation 183 Law and Regulations Regulation 185 requires the approved provider of an education and care service to ensure that a copy of the National Law and the Regulation

11 to be available Infringement notice offences Persons taken to hold an approved early childhood teaching qualification Description of the National Regulations is accessible at the education and care service premises at all times for use by the nominated supervisor, staff members, volunteers, parents of children enrolled at the service and any person seeking to make use of the service. Education and care service premises is defined in the National Law. For a family day care service, the premises include the service s office as well as family day care residences. Regulation 185 does not specify that a hard copy of the National Law and Regulations must be kept at the premises, so it may be appropriate to rely on an electronic copy, provided that the Law and Regulations are sufficiently accessible in electronic form. For example, a service with an unreliable internet connection might need to ensure that there is a CD or hard copy, to make certain that the Law and Regulations are accessible when the internet is not working. 291 of the National Law sets out the offences for which an infringement notice may be issued. They are: 172 Failure to display prescribed information 173 Failure to notify certain circumstances to the Regulatory Authority 176 Failure to comply with a compliance direction issued by the Regulatory Authority Offences against certain National Regulations (specified in regulation 190), such as regulation 83 (use of alcohol or drugs), regulation 104 (fencing) and regulation 112 (nappy change facilities). Under the National Law an infringement notice imposes a penalty of 10% of the maximum penalty that could be enforced by a court for the particular offence. For example, the infringement penalty for 172 would be $300 for an individual and $1,500 in any other case (as the maximum penalty for this offence is $3,000 for an individual and $15,000 in any other case). Regulation 241 is a general saving provision which provides that a person will be taken to hold an approved early childhood teaching qualification if, immediately before the scheme commencement date (1 January 2012), the person meets certain criteria set out in the regulation. These criteria include that the person was recognised under the former education and care services law as an early childhood teacher. In NSW, the former education and care services law is the NSW Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 and the Children s Services Regulation 2004 (see section 12 of the NSW Children (Education and Care Services National Law Application) Act 2010 which applies the National Law in NSW). This means that a person who was recognised as a teaching staff member under the Children s Services Regulation 2004 is recognised as an early childhood teacher under the National Law and Regulations from 1 January 2012, even if their qualification does not appear on a list of approved early childhood teaching qualifications published by the Australian Children s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). Regulation Regulation

12 Persons taken to be early childhood teachers Description of the Regulation 242 is a general transitional provision which applies from 1 January 2014 until 31 December It permits the approved provider of a centre-based education and care service to count a person who is actively working towards an early childhood teacher qualification as an early childhood teacher for the purposes of Regulations if the person gives the provider evidence that the person: has completed fifty per cent of the course; or already holds an approved diploma-level education and care qualification. Actively working towards a qualification is defined in Regulation 10 as: being enrolled in the course for the qualification; and providing the approved provider with documentary evidence from the provider of the course that Regulation 242 Regulation 272 the educator has commenced the course; and is making satisfactory progress towards completion of the course; and is meeting the requirements for maintaining the enrolment. Declared approved learning frameworks Regulations set out general early childhood teacher requirements under the National Quality Framework. Regulations 133 and 134 do not apply in NSW because we are retaining our existing requirements for early childhood teachers to be in attendance at all times a service is educating and caring for 30 or more children preschool age or under. Regulation 132 only applies to services in NSW educating and caring for 29 or fewer children preschool age or under, for this same reason. NSW is retaining its existing early childhood teacher requirements by means of Regulation 272, which is a NSW-specific saving provision. These arrangements mean that in NSW Regulation 242 only applies to services educating and caring for 29 or fewer children preschool age or under. It does not apply to services in NSW educating and caring for 30 or more children preschool age or under, to which Regulation 272 applies. 168 of the National Law requires the approved provider and nominated supervisor of an education and care service to ensure that a program is delivered to all children being educated and cared for at the service that: is based on an approved learning framework is delivered in a manner that accords with the approved learning framework is based on the developmental needs, interests and experiences of each child Regulation

13 Early childhood teachers 30 or more children preschool age or under Description of the is designed to take into account the individual differences of each child. There is a penalty for failure to comply with this requirement ($4000 in the case of an individual, $20,000 in any other case). Regulation 254 specifies that, in NSW, the approved learning frameworks are: Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia My Time, Our Place: Framework for School Age Care in Australia. Regulation 272 is a NSW-specific saving provision that applies in place of Regulations in relation to centre-based services that educate and care for 30 or more children preschool age or under. This regulation maintains existing early childhood teacher (ECT) requirements for centre-based services in NSW educating and caring for 30 or more children preschool age or under. One ECT is required for services with children, two ECTs for children, three ECTs for children and four ECTs for 80 or more children. Regulation 272 (NSW-specific) Child protection courses Swimming pools Regulation 273, which only applies in NSW, requires all nominated supervisors, and any certified supervisor placed in day to day charge of a service in NSW, to have completed an approved course in child protection. (NB: Completion of a course in child protection is not a pre-requisite for being granted a supervisor certificate.) As this is a NSW-specific saving provision, the Department of Education and Communities (as the NSW Regulatory Authority) is responsible for publishing a list of approved child protection courses for the purposes of Regulation 273. The list of approved courses is available on the Department of Education and Communities website: Regulation 274 is a NSW-specific saving provision. It retains existing provisions relating to swimming pools that applied under the NSW Children s Services Regulation Regulation 274 requires that: the approved provider of a centre-based service (other than a school-based service) for children who are preschool age or under must ensure there is no swimming pool on the service premises, unless the pool existed on the premises before 6 November 1996; Regulation 273 (NSW-specific) Regulation 274 (NSW-specific) 13

14 Approvals and applications under the Early Childhood Teacher Interim Policy Description of the the approved provider of a school-based service for children who are preschool age or under must ensure there is no swimming pool on the service premises, unless the pool existed on the premises and the service was operating before 1 July 2008 ( schoolbased service means an education and care service that is conducted by a school within the meaning of the NSW Education Act 1990); the approved provider of a family day care service must ensure that any swimming pool at a family day care residence or approved family day care venue is fenced in accordance with the requirements for fencing a new swimming pool under the NSW Swimming Pools Act These arrangements mean that a centre-based service for children who are over preschool age (e.g. an OSHC service) may have a swimming pool on the premises. NB: Swimming pools are permitted in all other jurisdictions except Tasmania, which has a blanket prohibition on swimming pools at education and care services. NSW and Tasmania-specific saving provisions have been included in the approved National Regulations in place of the proposed general prohibition on swimming pools that was included in the consultation draft Regulations. Regulations 283 and 284 are NSW-specific transitional provisions. Under the Early Childhood Teacher Interim Policy the Department could approve a licensed service provider to rely on a staff member (who does not have the necessary qualifications) as a teaching staff member for the purposes of Clause 52 of the NSW Children s Services Regulation A copy of the Interim Policy is available at Regulation 283 provides that a licensed service provider who holds a current approval under the Interim Policy on 31 December 2011, will be taken to hold a temporary waiver of the equivalent requirements under the National Regulations from 1 January Any conditions imposed on the approval under the Interim Policy will be taken to be conditions on the temporary waiver. The temporary waiver will expire on 1 January 2013, or the date on which the approval under the Interim Policy would have expired, whichever is earlier. Regulation 284 provides that an application for an approval under the Interim Policy which has not been determined by 31 December 2011 will be taken to be an application for a temporary waiver from 1 January Regulation 283 Regulation 284 (NSW-specific) February 2012 State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities. This document remains the copyright of the State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities. Permission is granted for viewing and downloading for personal and not for profit purposes on the condition that copies of the material shall be made without alteration and must retain acknowledgement of the copyright. Individuals or organisations wishing to publish or reproduce any materials for other purposes are requested to contact the Department of Education and Communities. This summary of the Regulations is general, and for information purposes only. It is not necessarily accurate, adequate or complete. It is not intended to be legal advice, and may not apply to your situation. Legal advice should be sought before you act on any legal matter. No liability, including for negligence, will be accepted for any loss arising from use of this document. 14