The new requirements aim to reduce the risk of children being accidentally left inside vehicles and apply to all centre-based services that offer or arrange regular transportation of children.
Staff from Communities’ Education and Care Regulatory Unit (ECRU) attended a media opportunity with Channel 9 and Child Protection Minister Sabine Winton at Kidz Biz Wanneroo on Friday to promote the regulation changes.
Kidz Biz Assistant Operations Manager Elaine Koopman said children’s safety was the centre’s absolute priority and losing track of a child was their “worst nightmare” as educators.
“We’ve already reviewed processes and procedures and received some feedback from the regulatory unit so I feel like we’re right on track for the new regulations to come into place,” Elaine said.
“Once we’ve got our updated versions of our checklists they will be communicated to our families as well. “It’s great that it is coming in effect. It will be good to see less accidents happen.”
The changes include making sure:
- children are accounted for as they get in or out of a vehicle by a staff member or a nominated supervisor other than the driver
- a staff member or nominated supervisor other than the driver accounts for children when they get on and off transport at the childcare service premises
- the interior of the vehicle is physically checked to ensure no children are left behind
- records are kept of how each child was accounted for
- the Department of Communities (ECRU) is notified when regular transportation starts being provided or arranged by the services, and if/when it stops.
The penalty for breaches of the regulations range between a minimum of $9,000 and a maximum of $26,000.
While most West Australian centre-based childcare services are diligent when transporting children in their care, since 2017, ECRU has initiated 12 disciplinary proceedings before the State Administrative Tribunal, relating to centre-based services leaving children unattended inside vehicles.
These proceedings have resulted in these services being collectively fined more than $157,500.
Many of those incidents occurred during the hottest part of the day between 1.00pm and 4.00pm, with unsupervised times ranging from five minutes up to over two hours.
The ages of children left unattended ranged from three to six years old.
For more information on the new transport regulations, visit the ECRU web page.
Image: ECRU’s Claire Hunter (left) and ECRU’s Natalie Gulberti (right) with Kidz Biz Wanneroo staff.
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