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 Roles and responsibilities.
Element 7.1.3: Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, and understood, and support effective decision making and operation of the service.
If a new educator started at your service tomorrow, could they clearly articulate their child safety responsibilities, and explain exactly what action they would take if a concern arose?
Element 7.1.3 has taken on heightened significance following the strengthened child safety reforms under the NQF. As we know, child safety is no longer positioned as an add on compliance requirement, it’s embedded within governance systems, recruitment practices, induction processes, and leadership culture. For Approved Providers, Nominated Supervisors and Service Leaders, this means critically reviewing and strengthening the systems that ensure all educators and staff understand and enact their responsibilities to protect children, ensuring that their safety, rights and best interests are the paramount consideration at all times.
The child safety reforms place clear emphasis on preventing unsuitable persons from entering the sector. Recruitment systems must be thorough, documented and consistently implemented. Additionally, Services should critically review relevant documents, policies, procedures and practices that support effective induction for new staff, ensuring they understand their obligations and how those obligations translate into practice. These may include, however not limited to:
- Position descriptions clearly outline child protection and safety obligations, including supervision, reporting obligations, maintaining professional boundaries, and compliance with regulatory requirements, National Model Code and Guidelines for taking images and video of children in ECEC and National Principals for Child Safe Organisations/Child Safe Standards.
- The service’s Code of Conduct clearly outlines expectations regarding professional boundaries, appropriate physical contact, inappropriate conduct, protected disclosures, communication with children and families (including digital communication), effective supervision practices, responding to breaches and devices in ECEC.
- The Orientation and Induction Policy and procedure and checklist clearly outline the systems to ensure all new educators, staff, students and volunteers are supported to understand their responsibilities in maintaining a child safe environment.
- The Staff Handbook (as well as the Student/Volunteer Handbook) should detail clear and updated information about, the National Quality Standard (2026), the National Law and Regulations, the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations /Child Safe Standards, Child Protection Law and mandatory reporting obligations and procedures (including reporting timeframes), mandatory National Child Safety Training, Child Protection Training, ECA Code of Ethics, smoking and vaping and prohibition of vaping devices, Safe Use of Digital Technologies and Online Environments Policy, confidentiality, the National Early Childhood Worker Register, safe supervision practices, breaches of the staff Code of Conduct.
By reviewing and strengthening orientation and induction procedures and practices, Service leaders prioritise child safety, ensuring it is explicitly taught, consistently reinforced, and confidently enacted by every member of the team.
Resources:
Guide to the NQF- Element 7.1.3
Safe use of devices in education and care services
National Model Code – Taking images in early childhood education and care
National Early Childhood Worker Register
Within System7 go to Quality Area 7 Modules 28 & 29 to submit self-assessment notes and if required, open a QIP issue if you identify any areas of improvement.
The Childcare Centre Desktop has a range of resources to assist services with documenting professional collaboration. These include Position Description templates, Recruitment Policy, Code of Conduct Policy, Probation, Induction and Orientation Policy, New Employee Induction Checklist, Casual Employee Induction Checklist, Student Volunteer Induction Checklist, New Committee Member Induction Checklist, Staff Handbook, Student Volunteer Handbook and much more.
Resources, NQS Element, Regulation and System7 links:
Childcare Centre Desktop – Childcare Centre Desktop
National Quality Standard – QA 7/ 7.1.3- Roles and responsibilities
National Law and Regulations – S162B, S166A, 82, 83, 84, 90(1)(b), 168, 169, 170, 171, Part 4.4
System7 Module – QA 7/ Modules 28 & 29
If you have any questions, send us a note via the Contact page here!
