Aug 22, 2025
Federal and State Education Minister agree on comprehensive child safety reforms
Federal and State Education Ministers met today and agreed to a comprehensive plan to improve child safety across the ECEC sector. Ministers agreed that dedicated, committed early educators are our greatest asset in caring for, educating, and keeping our children safe. The Australian Government committed to investments of $189 million to strengthen safety and quality in ECEC settings to be delivered in coordination with the states.
Initiatives will include a National Educators Register, mandatory child safety training for all educators, an overhaul of working with children checks systems, a trial of installing CCTVs at 300 centres nationwide, a total ban on personal devices in centres, 1600 additional compliance visits to services, more regular quality assessments, tougher penalties, improved transparency to families on safety records of services and a rapid review of the rules around adequate supervision.
Ministers also agreed to amend the National Laws governing ECEC to provide make the safety, rights and best interests of children the paramount consideration under National Law and other recommendations from the National Child Safety Review.
Education Ministers' Communique and Ministers' Comments
