Office for Early Childhood Education and Care > Service providers > National Quality Framework > National Regulations >

Family day care

Key changes for family day care

As of 1 January 2012, family day care (FDC) services (may be known as Schemes or Coordinating Units) become part of the new National Quality Framework (NQF). FDC services licensed under the Act as at 31 December 2011 were transition into the new regulatory framework. Key transitional arrangements include that:

the licensee will be taken to be an Approved Provider
the service will be taken to be an approved service
conditions on existing licences will continue in force on service approvals
specified employees will be declared to be a certified supervisor (generally FDC coordinators - see the Supervisor Certificates and Nominated Supervisor page for further information)
the Approved Provider will be required to nominate a Certified Supervisor to be the Nominated Supervisor of the service
the Approved Provider must appoint sufficient persons as FDC coordinators to monitor and support the service's FDC educators.

Queensland services will be able to manage educators based in multiple states and territories. Similarly, services in other states will be able to manage FDC educators in Queensland.

The Department of Education and Training (the Department) will issue provider approvals, service approvals and supervisor certificates for declared services and individuals by 30 June 2012.

What are the qualification requirements?

As of 1 January 2012, FDC services are required to designate:

a suitably qualified and experienced educator as the educational leader to lead the development and implementation of educational programs in the service
a Nominated Supervisor responsible for the day to day management of the service.

For many services both roles may be met by one or more of the Coordinators of the service. Section 162 of the National Law prescribes that the Nominated Supervisor or another responsible person needs to be accessible to provide support to the family day care educator at all times education and care are being provided. This could be addressed through on call arrangements.

There must be sufficient coordinators available at any time the service is being offered. This is different from requirements under the Child Care Act 2002 where Coordinator hours are based on the functions that are required to be completed.

From 1 January 2014, all FDC educators will be required to hold, or be working towards, an approved Certificate III level qualification in early childhood education and care. Coordinators will be required to hold an approved diploma level qualification.

The Queensland Government's ECEC Workforce Action Plan 2011-2014 outlines the range of assistance available to educators to upskill to meet the NQF qualification requirements. This includes a Family Day Care Training Strategy.

How will qualifications be determined?

Currently, the Department publishes approved qualification lists and determines equivalency of qualifications that are not on the approved list.

As of 1 January 2012, the new national body, the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA), will determine the qualifications to be held by educators, including the assessment of equivalent qualifications. ACECQA will also publish a list of qualifications that have been approved for transitioning into the NQF. A person may also apply to ACECQA to have their qualification recognised as equivalent to an approved qualification. There is a $100 fee for this application.

Previously, the Department published approved qualification lists and determined equivalency of qualifications that were not on the approved list.

Educator to child ratios

As of 1 January 2012, the current ratios under the Child Care Act 2002 apply with each FDC educator able to educate and care for up to seven children with a maximum of four children not yet attending school. This limit includes the educator's own children who are under school age.

From 1 January 2016, the Education and Care Services National Regulations (National Regulations) set the ratio at 1:7 with a maximum of four children who are kindergarten age or under. From this time, the ratio will include the educator's own children if they are under 13 and no other adult is present to care for them.

An FDC service may approve an FDC educator to educate and care for more than seven children or more than four children who are kindergarten age or under in exceptional circumstances. For example, a FDC residence is in a rural or remote area and no alternative education and care service is available.

What are the ratios for educators coming together to run an excursion?

There is no explicit ratio for educators coming together to run an excursion included in the National Regulations . Rather, services are required to undertake a risk assessment prior to an excursion to identify any risks and how these will be managed and minimised.

The risk assessment must consider:

items to be taken on the excursion
the minimum educator to child ratio required under the National Regulations
whether a higher ratio of educators (or other responsible adults) is appropriate to provide supervision given the risks posed by the excursion the proposed route and destination
any water hazards
risks associated with water-based activities
transport to and from the proposed destination
number of adults and children
proposed activities
proposed duration
whether any specialised skills are required to ensure children's safety.

While an increased educator to child ratio for excursions is not specified in the National Regulations, there is a requirement to adequately supervise children at all times. A thorough risk assessment should determine whether minimum ratios are sufficient to provide adequate supervision of children while attending an excursion.

If the excursion is a regular excursion (for example, a weekly visit to the library or playtime in the park) and a risk assessment has been conducted in relation to that regular excursion in the last 12 months, a further risk assessment would not be conducted unless the circumstances have changed (e.g. taking a different route).

For an optional template for this risk assessment, refer to page 173 of the Guide to the National Law and Regulations available on the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority website .

Assessment and rating

A key aspect of the NQF is a focus on continuous quality improvement. As of 1 January 2012, FDC services will be assessed against the new National Quality Standard (NQS) and the National Regulations .

The Department's authorised officers will be responsible for assessing and rating FDC services. Assessment will involve visits to the FDC service including a random sample of FDC educator homes. Assessment and rating for FDC will apply at the service level rather than within each individual home.

Each service will need to develop and annually update a Quality Improvement Plan. FDC services are encouraged to incorporate the NQS into existing quality assessment processes, to identify areas where the service is doing well and areas where improvements may be required for inclusion in the scheme's Quality Improvement Plan. See the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority's Guide to developing a quality improvement plan for more information.

When can services expect to be assessed?

Services will start to be notified from mid March 2012 that the assessment and rating process has commenced and the earliest site visits will start in mid June 2012.

What learning framework is to be delivered?

Under the National Regulations , all services will be required to use an approved learning framework. Services should currently be familiarising themselves with and beginning to implement the approved learning framework.

The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) has been developed for services catering for children aged birth to five years and the My Time, Our Place - Framework for School Age Care in Australia is for school aged children.

FDC educators will be required to keep documentation of children's assessments or evaluations as part of an educational program based on an approved learning framework (section 74 of the National Regulations).

What policies and procedures is a FDC service required to keep?

Under current arrangements FDC services are required to maintain a wide range of policies. Similarly, the new National Regulations require a range of policies and/or procedures. The table below outlines the policies and/or procedures required, the corresponding section of the National Regulations and NQS and whether these policies are new or align with existing requirements.

Required policies and procedures all service types (Regulation 168)
Content of policy and/or procedure	Reference	Existing Qld Child Care legislation	National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC)
Health and safety
Delivery and collection of children	Regulation 99; 168(2)(f)	Linkages to record keeping requirements.
Excursions	Regulations 100 to 102; 168 (2)(g)	Linkages to information to parents, record keeping.
Refusal of authorisations for a child to leave the service	Regulation 168(2)(m)	Linkages to record keeping about collection of children and parent access requirements.
Dealing with infectious disease	Regulation 88; 168 (2)(c) NQS 2.1	Aligns	Policy on child and staff immunisation and infectious diseases.
Dealing with medical conditions	Regulation 90; 168(2)(d) NQS 2.1	Linkages to record keeping requirements.	Process for developing and implementing health management plans for children with specific medical needs.
Emergency and evacuation	Regulation 97; 168(2)(e) NQS 2.3	Aligns	Emergency procedures to be displayed.
Health and safety, including matters relating to: Nutrition, food and beverages, dietary requirements Sun protection Water safety Administration of first aid	Regulation 168(2)(a) NQS 2.2 NQS 2.3 NQS 2.3 NQS 2.1	Some linkages to information for parents and record keeping requirements.	Policies on food and nutrition, food safety and hygiene and sun protection.
Incident, injury, trauma and illness	Regulation 85; 168(2)(b) NQS 2.1	Aligns with current except for trauma and incident.
Child safe environment	Regulation 168(2)(h) NQS 2.3, 7.1	Linkages to health and safety matters provisions.	Policies on child protection, use and storage of dangerous products, safety checks and maintenance of buildings and equipment, occupational health and safety.
Staffing arrangements
Staffing, including: Code of conduct Determining the responsible person present Participation of volunteers and students	Regulation 168(2)(i) NQS 4.2	Aligns with current except for determining responsible person and code of conduct.
Relationships with children
Interactions with children	Regulations 155 to 156; 168(2)(l) NQS 5.1, 5.2	Linkages to guiding principles	Policy on positive behaviour guidance
Service management
Governance and management of the service, including confidentiality of records	Regulation 168(2)(a) NQS 7.3	Linkages to confidentiality of records.
Enrolment and orientation	Regulation 168(2)(k) NQS 6.1	Linkages to record keeping requirements.
Payment of Fees	Regulation 168(2)(n) NQS 7.3
Dealing with Complaints	Regulation 168(2)(o) NQS 7.3	Aligns	Documented procedures for grievance and complaints handling.

Additional policies and procedures for Family Day Care services (Regulation 169)
Content of policy and/or procedure	Reference	Linkages to existing Qld Child Care legislation
Assessment, approval and reassessment of approved family day care residences and family day care venues	Regulation 116; 169(2)(a) NQS 2.3	Broadly links to coordinator functions
Recruitment of family day care educators	Regulation 169(2)(b) NQS 7.1	Broadly links to coordinator functions
Keeping a register of family day care educators	Regulation 153; 169(2)(c)	Linkages to record keeping requirements
Monitoring, support and supervision of family day care educators	Regulation 169(2)(d) NQS 4.2	Linkages to coordinator functions.
Fit and proper assessment of family day care educators, assistants and adults residing at family day care residences	Regulation 163; 169(2)(e) NQS 7.1	Linkages to Act requirements/CCYPCG requirements
Visitors to family day care residences and venues	Regulation 165; 169(2)(f)	Linkages to coordinator functions and requirements
Provision of information, assistance and training to family day care educators	Regulation 169(2)(g) NQS 4.2, 7.2	Linkages to coordinator functions
Engagement and registration of family day care assistants	Regulation 154; 169(2)(h)	Broad linkage to coordinator functions

Building and facilities

What are the building and facilities requirements for FDC?

The Act (2002) and the Regulation set out the current homes and facilities requirements for safe and suitable home based services including bedding and bed linen, a telephone, outdoor play areas, other facilities and harmful plants.

Under the NQF, all physical requirements for FDC homes will be contained in the National Regulations .

Quality Area 3 Physical Environment of the NQS detail the buildings and facilities standards and elements that all ECEC services will be rated against. The National Regulations also detail a number of physical requirements that FDC services must meet (sections 103 - 110 and 116-117 of the National Regulations). These requirements include:

Premises, furniture and equipment to be safe, clean and in good repair
Fencing and security
Furniture, materials and equipment
Laundry and hygiene facilities
Space requirements - indoor
Space requirements - outdoor
Toilet and hygiene facilities
Ventilation and natural light
Assessments of FDC residences and approved FDC venues^**
Glass

** At the time of approval, Assessment authorised officers won't be assessing FDC residences - rather, the Approved Provider must make an assessment of the residence and provide a statement indicating that they meet the requirements.

In order to ease the transition to the new requirements for existing services some physical environment requirements will not apply to FDC services that were not required to comply with similar requirements under the previous legislation, unless the family day care residence is renovated, the service approval is transferred or the FDC educator is no longer engaged by the service. These requirements relate to fencing and security and outdoor space - shade.

It should also be noted that swimming pools are not prohibited and Queensland has specific legislative requirements relating to pool fencing (see Building Requirements for more information).

^ Top of page

This page was last reviewed on 03 Jan 2012 at 05:57PM