Compliance focus – effective service notifications
Practical tips for ECEC approved providers when making a notification to the NSW Regulatory Authority.
20 May 2024
As an approved provider, you are responsible for informing the NSW Regulatory Authority of certain types of incidents, complaints and operational changes that occur at your service. In NSW, you must submit a notification to the Department of Education, which is the NSW Regulatory Authority for the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector.
The Children (Education and Care Services) Law (NSW) and Education and Care Services National Regulations (National Law and Regulations) outline notifications and reporting requirements for approved providers and, where applicable, other ECEC staff. Approved providers must also consider other reporting required under other legislation.
What is a notification?
A notification is the information you provide to the NSW Regulatory Authority to understand, assess and respond to reportable incidents, complaints or changes to an ECEC service.
Notifications should be thorough and concise. An effective notification clearly outlines the purpose and reason for the notification, and the key details of the incident, change or complaint.
Notifications provide critical data, information and insights about the sector. The NSW Regulatory Authority draws on this information to identify trends, assess and respond to risks, and make informed decisions relating to the safety and quality of ECEC services. At a service level, the NSW Regulatory Authority uses this information to maintain a comprehensive view of a service's operations and compliance with National Law and Regulations.
Types of notifications
Examples include but are not limited to the death or serious injury of a child, any emergency attended by emergency services, and incidents where a child is missing, locked in or taken from the premises unlawfully. A serious incident is defined in regulation 12.
Serious incidents require immediate attention and must be reported within 24 hours.
Includes any circumstance that poses a risk to the health, safety or wellbeing of children (for example, an infectious disease outbreak) and/or any incident or allegation of physical or sexual abuse of a child while in the care of the service.
Any incident that is not a serious incident must be reported within 7 days.
Any complaint alleging a serious incident has occurred or is occurring, or that the National Law has been breached must be reported within 24 hours.
Includes but is not limited to changes in location or to the hours and days of operation, or proposed alterations to the service premise.
Notifications must typically be reported within 7 to 14 days, depending on the nature of the change.
Includes but is not limited to changes related to an approved provider's fitness and propriety, persons with management or control, or nominated supervisors.
Notifications timeframes typically range from 7 to 14 days, depending on the nature of the change.
More information about your legal obligations is available on ACECQA's Notification types and timeframes webpage.
Why effective notifications are important
Providing clear and comprehensive information at the time you submit your notification streamlines the notifications and reporting process for both services and the NSW Regulatory Authority.
Effective notifications:
reduce administrative burden – when all necessary details are provided upfront, there is less need for back-and-forth communication, reducing the administrative load on the service and the NSW Regulatory Authority
improve efficiency – the NSW Regulatory Authority can process clear, detailed notifications in a more effective and timely manner, which also helps streamline decision-making processes
support decision-making – quality notifications enable the NSW Regulatory Authority to make well-informed, data-driven decisions and take appropriate action to enhance the safety and quality of ECEC services.
Tips for making an effective notification
Be thorough yet concise. Provide all necessary details about the incident, complaint or change: the who, what, where, when, why and how. Use simple, straightforward language and short sentences to convey this information. Your notification should provide sufficient information for the NSW Regulatory Authority to assess the situation without requesting further details, unless required.
Include relevant and required information and documents only. Notifications should focus solely on the reported incident, complaint or change. Only include additional or unrelated information or documents if requested explicitly by the NSW Regulatory Authority. For example, service policies or copies of an incident or illness report do not substitute a detailed account of the incident or change.
Submit within the appropriate timeframe. Services must be aware of and adhere to submission timeframes set out in the National Law and Regulations, which differ depending on the notification type. These timeframes are in place to ensure the NSW Regulatory Authority can promptly assess and respond to reported incidents or notifications and, ultimately, support the health, safety, and wellbeing of children attending ECEC services.
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