The majority of education and care services in Western Australia are covered by the:
- Education and Care Services National Law (WA) Act 2012
- Education and Care Services National Regulations 2012
The National Law and National Regulations outline the legal obligations of approved providers, nominated supervisors and educators and explain the powers and functions of the state and territory Regulatory Authorities.
National Quality Framework
The National Quality Framework (NQF) is Australia’s system for regulating early learning and school age care including: legislation and national quality standard, and learning frameworks.
- Education and Care Services National Law (WA) Act 2012
- Education and Care Services National Regulations 2012
- National Quality Standard
- Early Years Learning Framework
- My Time Our Place
Services regulated under WA state law
A small number of services in WA, such as occasional (casual) care services and mobile services that are covered by legislation specific to WA:
- Child Care Services Act 2007
- Child Care Services Regulations 2007
- Child Care Services (Child Care) Regulations 2006
Non-compliance
If a service is found to be non-compliant with the legislation, a risk assessment will be undertaken to determine whether the non-compliance exposed a child to serious risk of harm. The assessment will also consider whether the continued provision of the service constitutes an unacceptable risk to the safety, health and wellbeing of the children attending the service. All actions by the Education and Care Regulatory Unit will be based on such an assessment, with high risk non-compliance resulting in the most serious action. Details of serious non-compliance are published as enforcement actions. Disciplinary action or reviews can be found at the State Administrative Tribunal.
