Additional children at a service

Do you need to make a notification about additional children at your service?

A service can educate and care for additional children in certain circumstances. You must notify the Regulatory Authority if additional children are being educated and cared for at your service.

Is your service providing education and care for additional children?

Based on your answers, a notification does not need to be made.

Educator-to-child ratios do not include children from the same family who attend a centre-based service in an emergency, if they only attend for up to 2 consecutive days.

Is your service a centre-based service?

Regulation 123(5) provides examples of when additional children from the same family may attend a centre-based service in an emergency for up to two consecutive days.

Is an additional child or children from the same family being provided education and care at your service in an emergency?

Family day care service

Under regulation 124(5) the Approved Provider of a family day care service may approve, in writing, a family day care educator to educate and care for more than 7 children, or more than 4 children who are preschool age or under, at any one time, in exceptional circumstances. This needs to be recorded on the family day care register (regulation 153(1)(ma)).

Regulation 124(6) limits exceptional circumstances to the following:

1. all the children being educated and cared for are siblings in the same family, or
2. the child is determined to be in need of protection under a child protection law and the family day care educator is determined to be the best person to educate and care for the child, or
3. the family day care residence or approved family day care venue is in a rural or remote area and no alternative education and care service is available.

Example of exceptional circumstances: a child protection agency has asked a family day care educator to provide temporary education and care for a child experiencing vulnerability.

Is an additional child or children (above the maximum allowed) attending a family day care residence or venue in exceptional circumstances?

The Approved Provider must give written permission to the family day care educator and ensure all children being educated and cared for by the family day care educator are adequately supervised at all times.

If the Approved Provider gives written permission for additional children to attend in exceptional circumstances, the Approved Provider must maintain a record of this in the family day care register including the information prescribed in regulation 153(1)(ma).

If written permission is not provided by the Approved Provider, then the educator is not compliant with the National Law.

If written permission has not been provided by the Approved Provider, the FDC educator will need to obtain written permission from the Approved Provider OR ensure that the additional children are delivered into the care of a guardian or nominated person.

Next steps: Based on your answers, a notification does not need to be made.

If a family day care educator is providing education and care to an additional child or children and there are no exceptional circumstances, then the family day care educator is not compliant with the National Law.

Next steps: Based on your answers, a notification does not need to be made.

Relevant section of the Law/Regulation

Section 174(2)(c) An Approved Provider must notify the Regulatory Authority of information in respect of any other prescribed matters.

Regulation 175(2)(ca) prescribes that the following information must be notified to the Regulatory Authority in relation to the attendance of additional children from the same family in an emergency:

• a description of the emergency; and
• a statement by the Approved Provider that the Approved Provider has taken into account the safety, health and wellbeing of all the children attending the education and care service when deciding to provide education and care to the additional child or children.

Next steps

1. Log into NQAITS 
2. Complete I01 Notification incident form and provide the information required in regulation 175(2)(ca)

If your service is providing education and care to an additional child or children and:

• they are not part of the same family, or
• it is not an emergency,

then the Approved Provider is not compliant with the National Law.

Next steps:

Based on your answers, a notification does not need to be made.

Your service will need to ensure that the additional child or children are delivered into the care of a guardian or nominated person OR additional staff need to be arranged to ensure that ratios are maintained as a matter of urgency.

The Approved Provider will not be compliant with the National Law until this occurs.