Vulnerable Children Act 2014 – early learning sector requirements

These are requirements under the Vulnerable Children Act 2014 (VCA). They are also required under our licensing and certification criteria.

As well as applying to early learning services, the VCA requirements also apply to any organisation we fund to provide services to children.

Child Protection Policy

All early learning services must have a child protection policy in place now. The policy must:

• contain provisions on the identification and reporting of child neglect and abuse, and
• be written, and
• be reviewed every 3 years.

The child protection policy licensing criteria and guidance provide detailed information on how to meet this requirement:

• HS31 for centre-based services
• HS28 for home-based services
• HS13 for hospital-based services
• HS11 for playgroups

The guidelines Safer organisations, Safer children [PDF; 1.06MB] also provide information about child protection policies.

Safety checking

All children’s workers must be safety checked according to the standards set out in the VCA and safety checking regulations. This includes a workforce restriction – anyone convicted of a specified offence cannot be employed or engaged as a core children’s worker, unless they have an exemption.

The safety checking requirements are being phased in:

• From 1 July 2015, all new core children’s workers must be safety checked.
• From 1 July 2016, all new non-core children’s workers must be safety checked.
• By 1 July 2018, all existing core children’s workers must be safety checked.
• By 1 July 2019, all existing non-core children’s workers must be safety checked.

The safety checking licensing criteria and guidance provide detailed information on how to meet these requirements:

• GMA7A for centre-based services
• GMA6A for home-based services
• GMA7A for hospital-based services
• MA6 for playgroups

The guidelines Safer recruitment, Safer children [PDF; 3.13MB] provide information about choosing safe people to work with children.

The publication Children’s worker safety checking under the Vulnerable Children Act 2014 [PDF; 1.18MB] provides advice for interpreting and applying the safety checking regulations.

The following resources will help you meet your safety checking requirements:

• New and existing employees
• Students on practicum
• Relievers