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New mandatory safety standards for infant sleep products came into effect throughout Australia on 19 January 2026.
These standards apply to all infant sleep products purchased on or after 19 January 2026 by all consumers, including family day care services and educators. The standards set out requirements for the design, construction and performance of infant sleep products as well as mandatory warning labels and safety information to help reduce the risk of injury and death.
The new standards cover products that infants sleep in or may fall asleep in and include requirements relating to:
For a detailed description of the mandatory standards please visit the ACCC product safety website.
What the new safety standards mean for you
The new mandatory standards operate alongside existing sleep and rest requirements under the Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations.
Approved providers must take steps, in line with the Education and Care Services National Regulations, to ensure the new infant sleep product standards are reflected in their service practices.
This includes:
Services should also actively review current sleep equipment (particularly older or inclined products) to ensure they continue to meet safety expectations and do not introduce avoidable risks to infants.
For more information, see the NSW Department of Education’s summary of the new standards, and the ACCC product safety guidance on infant sleep products.
The Australian Government Department of Education (the Department) have recently declared Child Care Subsidy (CCS) periods of emergency in several local government areas (LGAs) in Queensland and Victoria due to the impact of flooding and bushfire.
If services, families or educators have been affected by these emergencies, please visit the Department's website to view the most up to date list of declared LGAs and timeframes.
Providers, services, and families in affected areas can access emergency support for the specified dates. The Department will continue to monitor emergency situations and update the list as needed.
For further information about the support that is available in the affected regions, click here.
Mandatory national child safety training starts 27 February 2026.
The following people involved in early childhood education and care (ECEC) must complete the training:
The training is being developed by the Queensland Government and the Australian Centre for Child Protection, it will be available on Geccko.
To access and complete the training, all users must have an individual Geccko account. If you don’t have a Geccko account, you can register here.
Services can use the Department's communication toolkit to encourage staff and educators to register early. If help is required, please visit the Department’s website.
Safe sleep and rest practices are essential to protecting children’s health, safety and wellbeing in family day care. Regulation 84C – Risk Assessment for purposes of sleep and rest policies and procedures is one of the most commonly breached regulations in the family day care sector.
This regulation is more than a documented assessment. It expects services and educators to actively identify, manage and review sleep and rest risks in practice, particularly as children’s needs and environments change.
Under Regulation 84C, approved providers must ensure a sleep and rest risk assessment is conducted at least once every 12 months and reviewed as soon as practicable when circumstances change that may affect children’s safety, health or wellbeing during sleep and rest.
Key points to remember:
In family day care, compliance relies on shared responsibility between the approved provider, nominated supervisor and educators.
While the approved provider is responsible for ensuring a sleep and rest risk assessment is conducted and recorded, educators play a critical role in implementing and reviewing sleep and rest practices every day.
Educators are expected to:
Sleep and rest risk assessment is an ongoing practice, not a once-a-year task.
For more information and support on safe sleep practices, check out the following resources:
FDCA is reminding approved providers to review the accuracy of their prescribed information, particularly Regulatory Authority contact details, following recent updates in some states and territories.
Under the Education and Care Services National Regulations, prescribed information must be accurate, current and clearly displayed at all times, including at educators’ residences.
Regulation 172(2)(f) requires family day care services to display the following prescribed information:
Services may wish to take this opportunity to check that Regulatory Authority contact details are current wherever they appear, including on displayed information, policy and procedure documents, educator materials or supporting documentation.
The most up-to-date Regulatory Authority contact details are available on the ACECQA website.
With the 2026 school year approaching, there are a few things you and your families should be aware of that can impact Child Care Subsidy (CCS).
These include:
CCS during school holidays
Children who have completed primary school may continue to attend care and be eligible for CCS during the school holidays provided they are under 13 years of age and have not yet commenced high school.
Ending enrolments and ceasing care
If a family advises that a child is ceasing care, services are required to end the child’s enrolment. This often occurs when children leave family day care to commence school. Services must notify the Australian Government Department of Education of any change to care arrangements within seven days, either via the Provider Entry Point (PEP) or through the services third-party software provider.
Absences after last attendance
In most cases, CCS is not payable for absences after a child’s final physical attendance at the service. For more information about absences at the beginning or end of care, see FDCA’s article on Absences at the beginning or end of care – What you need to know.
Keeping details up to date
Remind families that they need to confirm their child's expected primary school start date with Services Australia. This information is used to calculate the family’s CCS rate.
For more information on CCS visit the Australian Department of Education website.
FDCA’s 2026 Wall Planner is now available for download for all members!
The planner captures important dates including school and public holidays, key events and celebrations for 2026.
Two sizes of the Wall Planner are available to download:
Download your FREE Wall Planner via the links above or log in to your FDCA Member Zone and click on the Resources and Factsheets subheading.
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