Working With Childcren Checks: JQM v Director-General, Department of Justice and Attorney-General

This is a case heard by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal in relation to reinstatement of a Blue Card. It is an interesting case as the person involved was an educator at a childcare centre (JQM) and in this case the Tribunal looked at her criminal history and impact on her own children in making the assessment of whether she was suitable to hold a Blue Card. The Tribunal decided not to reinstate the Blue Card, as the Tribunal remarked:

JQM submitted that all of her issues have been in her private life and she has never had any problems or issues at work. However, her failure to provide a protective environment over an extended period for her own children is relevant to child-related regulated employment. JQM must act to protect children in potentially stressful or threatening situations (para 46)...

Her failure to protect her children from abuse and violence and attempts to minimise that violence as recently as 2016 are risk factors that presently outweigh the protective factors. It is too early to be satisfied that JQM has developed her skills and attitudes sufficiently to take responsibility for her own actions and the protection of children (para.51)

National Nutritional Program for Childcare Services

The Bendigo Advertiser have reported on a programme, to be rolled out in March, called feedAustralia which aims to implement good food practices for children aged 2-5 years old in childcare. It is a Commonwealth Department of Health initiative and further information can be obtained at the feedAustralia website.

Victorian Health and Child Wellbeing Legislation Amendment Act 2017

This legislation was passed by the Victorian Parliament yesterday but it has not come into effect as yet. The Minister of Health issued a media release on some of the changes that the legislation will make to the current No Jab, No Play policy. As well as making changes to the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008  it will also amend the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 in relation to the reportable conduct scheme and the operation of the child safe standards.

Protection from Harm and Hazard (Section 167, National Law): CEO of Department of Communities, Scholi Pty Ltd

In a case heard before the West Australian State Administrative Tribunal earlier this month, an order was made which gave effect to the terms of settlement in relation to a matter brought before the tribunal by the WA Regulator (Department of Communities) for contravention of section 167 of the National Law by the approved provider (Scholi Pty Ltd) by failing to ensure that every reasonable precaution was taken to protect children being educated and cared for by it from harm and from any hazard likely to cause injury.

The facts of the case are set out in the report of the case, and in particular the attached agreed set of facts. In summary, at the Fremantle School of Early Learning service a child spilt hot water on themselves causing burns.

A penalty of $20,000 was imposed on the approved provider with a further $2,000 to be paid to the Department for legal costs.

NSW Prosecuton of Big Fat Smile Wollongong City Community Pre-School Service

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported on prosecutions in relation to the Big Fat Smile service at Wollongong, where a four year old child was left in the service alone for more than an hour after closing time.

Australian Childcare Regulation - the Book - Buy Now!

Australian Childcare Regulation is the name of the book I have written (Mick Ogrizek) that is intended to be a concise, but comprehensive guide, to the requirements of the National Scheme for the regulation of child care services (known as education and care services) as contained in the Education and Care Services National Law (National Law) and the Education and Care Services National Regulations (National Regulations). The national legislation regulating childcare is complex, lengthy, comprehensive, and, at times, ambiguous. The aim of this book is to assist in the understanding of, and compliance with, the National Law and Regulations and is particularly aimed at childcare service operators, those involved in the operation of services, and those enforcing the requirements of the legislation. One of the main goals of the book is to present the obligations under the National Law and Regulations in a more accessible way by:

• summarising the legislative requirements in a clear and more logically structured way 
• providing, commentary, explanation and cross referencing regarding the key legislative obligations.

You can only order the book from print on demand publisher lulu.com (Australian Store). To order just click on the box below!. Lulu Publishing also usually has discount codes to get a better deal. Checkout their website to access the latest codes and also discounts for volume orders.

NSW Prosecutions Under the National Law

The NSW Regulatory Authority (Department of Education) has recently published, on its website, details of a number of prosecutions it undertook under the National Law in the second half of 2017:

• Prosecution against Only About Children Pty Ltd, approved provider of Only About Children Rose Bay 1, for breaches of section 167(1) and regulation 170(1). The approved provider was convicted at Waverley Local Court and fined a total of $5,610. 
• Prosecution against W K Phillip Pty Ltd, approved provider of Caves Beach Early Learning Centre, for breaches of section 51(8) (maximum number of children) and not having the correct number of Early Childhood Teachers. The approved provider pleaded guilty and the offences were proven but a conviction was not recorded. The matter was conditionally discharged on the entering of a good behavior bond for a period of two years.
• Prosecution against Joshua Emerton, nominated supervisor of Active OOSH Cameron Park, for breach of s.165(2). The nominated supervisor was convicted at Newcastle Local Court and fined $3,000.
• Prosecution against Pipdol Pty Ltd, approved provider of Cheeky Cherubs Preschool, for breaches of section 165(1), 169(1), 19(4), and regulation 99(1). The approved provider was convicted at Gosford Local Court and fined $11,250. In addition, Philip Clark, company director of the approved provider, was fined $1800; and Kerrie Ross-Clark, nominated supervisor at Cheeky Cherubs was fined $6,600.
• Prosecution against G & M Childcare Centres Pty Ltd, approved provider of The Pines Academy, for breach of section 167(1). The approved provider was convicted at Campbelltown Local Court and fined $9,000. The nominated supervisor, Adriana Caruso (nee Tozzi), pleaded guilty to breach of section 167(2) and the offence was proven but dismissed without further penalty.
• Prosecution against Kidz Klub Pty Ltd, approved provider of Kidz Klub, for breach of sections 165(1) and 167(1). The approved provider was convicted at Penrith Local Court and fined $22,500. The nominated supervisor, Karren Green, was also fined $2,000.

Further details on the incidents can be found on the website.

Claim of Decline in Quality of WA Childcare Services

According to a report in WA Today, a Perth childcare operator, educator and trainer has called for an industry-wide shake-up in order to address poor regulation and poor pay in WA's childcare centres.

National Partnership Annual Performance Report - December 2017

ACECQA has published the annual performance report. Some of the information was included in the ROGS report (see previous blog post). However, there is some additional information that is interesting from a quality and compliance perspective:

• The quality rating of service against the National Quality Standard was the least important factor to families when choosing a service, compared to a number of things like location and cost (p.61). This is consistent with a number of worldwide studies.
• Forty three per cent of services had one or more serious incidents recorded in the National Quality Agenda IT System (NQAITS) for 2016/17, with 84% of all recorded serious incidents relating to children, experiencing injury, illness or trauma (Page 27-8).
• The top three most breached sections of the National Law in 2016-17 were: section 167 (Offence relating to protection of children from harm and hazards) - 30% of confirmed breaches; section 165 (Offence to inadequately supervise children) - 16%; and section 174 (Offence to fail notify certain information to Regulatory Authority) - 10%. A confirmed breach is when a Regulatory Authority finds that a provider, nominated supervisor or family day care educator has failed to abide by relevant legislation, regulations or conditions at an NQF approved service (p.28).
• The top three most breached regulations  of the National Regulations in 2016-17 were: regulation 103 (Premises, furniture and equipment to
  be safe, clean and in good repair) - 11% of confirmed breaches; regulation 97 (Emergency and evacuation procedures) - 7%; and regulation 173 (Prescribed information to be displayed) and regulation 170 (Policies and procedures to be followed) - both 5%.
• A majority of surveyed approved providers who identified certain regulatory requirements as burdensome, regarded the following requirements as more burdensome than beneficial: waivers; displaying information; notifications to regulatory authorities; Quality Improvement Plans and Quality assessment and rating visits (p.75). Quality assessment and rating visits or Quality Assessment Plans were regarded as the most single burdensome requirements by 40.6% of these approved providers. When asked why they thought requirements were burdensome; staff time taken, and diverting time from other activities were cited as reasons (p.76).

Report on Government Services 2018 - Early Childhood Education and Care

Part B of the Report on Government Services 2018 (ROGS report) was published on 1 February. Chapter 3 deals with early childhood education and care. The ROGS report is an annual report produced by the Productivity Commission comparing the performance of State and Territory governments in the delivery of a wide range of services.

In relation to childcare, some interesting information is revealed in the report in relation to quality and compliance:

• The jurisdictions with the highest proportion of NQF approved services, with a quality rating, whose overall rating is ‘Meeting NQS’ or above (as 30 June 2017) were: Victoria (83.3%), Queensland (77.9%), and Tasmania (77.5%). The lowest were NT (59.3%) and WA (61.5%).
• The jurisdictions with the highest number of confirmed breaches of the NQF per 100 services (in 2016-17) were Queensland (142.7), Victoria (142.3) and WA (92.9). The lowest were Tasmania (3.9) and NT (8.5), The report indicates these figures are not comparable between jurisdictions due to differences in administrative and reporting procedures. Nationally, there were 97.9 confirmed breaches per 100 services, with the highest rates being for family day care (306.7 breaches per 100 services) and long day care (115.2 breaches per 100 services. Quite interestingly, the report shows that the proportion of breaches resulting in action being taken by Regulatory Authorities varied wildly across jurisdictions, probably because what was regarded as "action" taken varied by jurisdiction. For instance, in the NT no "action" was taken for any of the breaches whereas in SA 100% of breaches were addressed.
• The jurisdictions with the highest number of serious incidents (as defined in regulation 12 of the National Regulations) that have occurred per 100 services (in 2016-17) were: ACT (148.9), Queensland (120.4), and NSW (99). The lowest were NT (66.8) and Tasmania (68.5). Nationally, there were 99.3 serious incidents per 100 NQF services with a total of 15,432 serious incidents having occurred.

The media has also reported on the ROGS report, including SBS News, and The Canberra Times.