Under the National Quality Framework (NQF), approved providers and service staff must report certain incidents and information to individuals and organisations other than the Early Childhood Regulatory Authority.
Family day care educator reporting requirements
Family day care (FDC) educators must notify their approved provider of:
- any new adult residents
- any circumstances related to adult residents and educator assistants that may affect whether the person is fit and proper to be in the company of children
- any circumstances at an FDC residence or venue that may pose a risk to the health, safety and wellbeing of children
- serious incidents
- complaints.
Read more about the requirements for family day care educators on the
Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) website.
Notifications to parents
Approved providers must notify parents of changes to the service operation and incidents involving children enrolled at the service.
Read the full list of notification types and timeframes to parents on the
ACECQA website.
Reporting requirements under other legislation
Reportable Conduct Scheme
Both the
Reportable Conduct Scheme (RCS) and the National Law require education and care (EC) services to report a worker's inappropriate conduct or alleged abuse of children.
While
notification requirements under the National Law have not changed, the following table shows that incidents or allegations of this nature may also have to be reported to the
Queensland Child and Family Commission (QFCC) under the RCS from 1 July 2026.
Note: this table only relates to conduct matters that occur during EC operational hours and does not include any other mandatory reporting requirements to QPS,
Blue Cards Services,
Child Safety or RCS (such as worker conduct outside of EC hours).
| When it applies | Conduct
only while providing EC | Conduct anytime (e.g while providing EC at the service
or while off duty)
|
|---|
What to report
|
Notify: - any incident or allegation that physical or sexual abuse of a child or children has or is occurring while they are being educated and cared for by the service
- a complaint alleging that national law has been contravened
- any circumstance posing a risk to the health, safety or wellbeing of a child
| Report
allegations and
convictions of
reportable conduct. This includes: - a child sexual offence
- sexual misconduct committed in relation to, or in the presence of a child
- ill-treatment of a child
- significant neglect of a child
- physical violence committed in relation to, or in the presence of a child
- behaviour that causes significant emotional or psychological harm to a child
|
|---|
| Who reports | Approved provider (AP) to regulatory authority |
Workers to the head of entity
Head of the entity to QFCC |
|---|
| By when | Within 24 hours of AP becoming aware of an incident or allegation of physical or sexual abuse. Within 24 hours of receiving a complaint. Within 7 days of AP becoming aware of a circumstance posing a risk | Workers—as soon as practicable. Head of entity—within 3 business days of becoming aware |
|---|
| How to report |
National Quality Agenda IT System |
QFCC |
|---|
For more information on the Reportable Conduct Scheme, contact
QFCC.
Mandatory reporting
All early childhood education and care professionals are mandatory reporters under the
Child Protection Act 1999, and are therefore legally required to report to Child Safety where they reasonably suspect that a child:
- has suffered, is suffering, or is at risk of suffering significant harm caused by sexual or physical abuse
- may not have a parent who is willing and able to protect them from harm.
For information on mandatory reporting, visit the
Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety website.
Other legislation
Approved providers are responsible for being aware of and complying with their reporting obligations under legislation other than the Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations.