Welcome to our weekly quality improvement support series for 2026.
“It’s our polite nudge in the ribs to help you and your team stay organised and on task.”
This week’s subject is Health practices and procedures.
Element 2.1.2: Effective illness and injury management and hygiene practices are promoted and implemented.
Are your first aid procedures and practices truly strengthening children’s safety and wellbeing? Are they compliant or in line with best practice guidance?
Element 2.1.2 requires that effective illness, injury and health practices are consistently implemented to support children’s health, safety and wellbeing. For high quality services, first aid goes further than meeting the minimum requirement for qualifications, it is about ensuring your service has robust, embedded systems that enable a timely, confident and effective response in any incident or emergency.
With evolving sector expectations, ensuring continual improvement and updated guidance on anaphylaxis management, services must regularly review and strengthen their first aid practices to ensure they remain current, compliant and responsive to children’s needs.
First aid qualifications: Are you always prepared to respond?
Under Regulation 136, at least one educator or nominated supervisor who is immediately available and working directly with children must hold:
- A current ACECQA-approved first aid qualification
- Current training in emergency asthma management
- Current training in anaphylaxis management
These requirements ensure that educators can respond to a range of incidents from minor injuries to life-threatening emergencies such as anaphylaxis.
While this is the minimum requirement, high-quality practice goes further:
- Multiple educators across all areas of the service hold current qualifications
- Multiple first aid–trained staff are strategically rostered across the day, including opening/closing shifts and across all environments
- The service provides regular training for the administration of adrenaline devices and recognising early signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis.
Currency matters:
- First aid, asthma and anaphylaxis training: renewed every 3 years
- CPR: updated annually
Services must maintain an accurate register of qualifications and expiry dates.
2026 ASCIA Action Plan updates:
- Updated 2026 versions of the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy ASCIA Action Plans and First Aid Plans have been released to improve clarity, consistency and emergency response safety.
- Services should begin reviewing and replacing outdated ASCIA plans to ensure children’s medical management documentation align with the most current clinical guidance and emergency response procedures.
- The updated plans now include:
- revised wording and clearer formatting to support faster responses during an emergency
- updated terminology, including replacing some references to “injectors” with broader references to “devices” and replacement of earlier prescribing references with the broader term “prescribers”, recognising changes to authorised health professional roles, including prescribing nurses
- additional fields identifying the specific adrenaline device prescribed to the child.
- New device-specific plans now reflect the growing range of adrenaline devices, including recently approved nasal spray (neffy®) adrenaline options. Services should ensure each child’s ASCIA plan matches the exact device prescribed.
- Ensure ASCIA plans remain readily accessible in all relevant environments, including outdoor areas and during excursions, and all educators, including casual and relief staff, should understand their responsibilities in responding to anaphylaxis emergencies.
- Services should review:
- children’s medical management plans
- risk minimisation plans
- communication plans
- medication authorisations
- anaphylaxis policies and procedures to ensure consistency with the updated ASCIA guidance and devices.
Resources:
Guide to the NQF- Element 2.1.2: Health practices and procedures
ASCIA Action Plans and First Aid Plan for Anaphylaxis
The Sector- 2026 anaphylaxis action plan updates and what they mean for early childhood leaders.
Within System7 go to Quality Area 2/ Modules 7-12 to submit self-assessment notes and if required, open a QIP issue if you identify any areas of improvement.
The Desktop has a range of resources to assist services with first aid compliance. These include Anaphylaxis Management Policy, Administration of First Aid Policy, Administration of First Aid Procedure, Asthma Management Policy, Anaphylaxis Letter to Families, Medical Conditions Policy, Medical Conditions Register, First Aid Kit Checklist, First Aid Kit Fact Sheet, First Aid Officer Position Description, First Aid Certificate Register, Medical Management Plan templates templates and much more.
Resources, NQS Element, Regulation and System7 links:
The Desktop – The Desktop
National Quality Standard – QA 2/2.1.2- Health practices and procedures
National Regulations – 89– First Aid Kits, 90– Medical conditions policy, 91– Medical conditions policy to be provided to parents, 94– Exception to authorisation requirement- anaphylaxis or asthma emergency, 136– First aid qualifications, 168 (2)(a)(iv)– Education and care service must have policies and procedures
System7 Module – QA 2/ Modules 7-12
If you have any questions, send us a note via the Contact page here!
