What records must a childcare service keep for each child?

The enrolment record

Regulation 160 requires a child enrolment record. It includes the child's full name, date of birth, address and gender, the language used at home, and contact details for each known parent, emergency contacts, authorised nominees and anyone authorised to consent to medical treatment or to collect the child. It must also note any court orders, parenting orders or parenting plans you have been given.

Regulations 161 and 162 add authorisations and health information. The record must hold authorisations to seek medical treatment and ambulance transport, and for regular outings and regular transport. It must record the child's medical practitioner, specific healthcare needs, allergies or risk of anaphylaxis, any medical management plan, dietary restrictions and immunisation status. Update it whenever a family tells you something has changed.

Attendance records

Regulation 158 requires the approved provider to keep a children's attendance record. It shows each child's full name and the times they arrive and leave each day, signed by the person who delivers or collects the child, or by the nominated supervisor or an educator. In family day care, regulation 159 places a matching duty on the educator. Attendance records are often the first thing checked after an incident or a question about who collected a child.

Medication and incident records

Regulation 92 requires a medication record for a child who is given medication at the service. It holds the written authorisation from a parent or other authorised person, details of the medication, dose and how it is given, and a record of each time it is given and by whom. Regulation 87 requires an incident, injury, trauma and illness record, completed as soon as practicable and within 24 hours. Serious incidents must also be notified to the regulatory authority.

How long to keep each record

Regulation 183 requires secure storage. A record of an incident, injury, trauma or illness that happened while the child was in the service's care must be kept until the child is 25. A record relating to the death of a child while in care must be kept until 7 years after the death. Any other record about a child, including enrolment, attendance and medication records, must be kept for 3 years after the last day the child was educated and cared for by the service.

Regulation 177 lists these as prescribed documents, and section 175 of the National Law requires them to be kept. Records must be available to authorised officers. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended keeping records about child sexual abuse for at least 45 years, so your provider's policy may set longer periods than the minimum.

Queensland services outside the National Law

Some Queensland services, such as limited hours care and occasional care, are approved under the Education and Care Services Act 2013 (Qld) rather than the National Law. Their record rules are in the Education and Care Services Regulation 2026, which commenced on 1 September 2026. For example, section 33 requires an incident, injury, trauma and illness record within 24 hours. The numbering differs from the National Regulations, so check the Queensland Regulation directly.