The Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) has released its report into the Review of Child Safety Arrangements under the National Quality Framework (CSA Review).
The review highlights that the National Quality Framework (NQF) is an internationally recognised framework that provides a robust regulatory scheme for ensuring the safety, health and wellbeing of children.
The CSA Review recommendations aim to:
- strengthen child safety approaches in the scope of the National Quality Framework (NQF)
- recognise emerging risks, such as the ubiquity of online technologies and artificial intelligence; the changing landscape of e-cigarettes, vaping, and alcohol; and clarify responsibilities between NQF requirements and interrelated child safety mechanisms
- improve educator safeguards, through changes in teacher accreditation and registration schemes and amendments to professional standards
- address interrelated child safety mechanisms, such as nationally consistent professional development on child safe standards, working with children checks / vulnerable people checks, mandatory reporting and reportable conduct schemes
- restrict the use of devices for taking images or videos of children in centre-based services to those that are service issued or approved.
Education Ministers have agreed to consider a response to the CSA Review recommendations in early 2024.
Read more in the
CSA Review on the ACECQA website.
Related information
Child protection is everybody’s responsibility and the department is committed to working across government and the sector to support services in protecting children. You will find more information and resources on the following pages.