Education and Care Services Act 2013 (Qld)

What the Act covers

The Act applies to a Queensland education and care service, or QEC service. Section 8 defines this as a service that provides regulated education and care to children under 13 years of age. Under section 7, care is regulated when it is provided by someone other than a relative or guardian of the child, at a place other than the child's home, for reward, and as part of a service that regularly provides education and care of children.

Section 8 also lists services that are not QEC services. The key exclusion is any service already approved under the Education and Care Services National Law (Queensland). Most Queensland education and care services are approved under the National Law, so they fall outside this Act. School education, care in hospitals, activity classes such as dance or sport, tutoring, camps, holiday care, adjunct care, mobile services and care provided under the Child Protection Act 1999, such as by licensed care services or approved carers, are also excluded.

Which services are regulated under it

The Department of Education lists the main service types regulated under the Act: limited hours care funded by the Queensland Government, occasional care, services that were funded under the Commonwealth budget based funded program as at 30 June 2018 and were not approved under family assistance law, early childhood services that are also disability services under the Disability Services Act 2006 (Qld), and stand-alone services. The department publishes a register of approved services, updated each year.

Section 9 defines a stand-alone service as a QEC service that does not hold a service approval and does not regularly provide education and care to more than 6 children under 13 at the same time. The Act regulates how these smaller services are conducted. Some care needs no approval under either scheme, including nannies and babysitters, care in the child's own home, and vacation care offered for no more than 4 weeks a year.

How it relates to the National Law and the NQF

The Act is separate from the National Quality Framework, which is built on the Education and Care Services National Law, the National Regulations and the National Quality Standard. Because a service approved under the National Law is not a QEC service, the two schemes do not overlap for the same approved service. The Act follows the National Law for a number of its provisions, and the department describes it as adopting elements of the National Law for some small scale services, especially those in rural and remote areas.

In practice, QEC approved services work to requirements that look familiar to NQF services: qualified educators, educator to child ratios, an educational program guided by an approved learning framework, safe premises and incident records. The details sit in the Queensland Regulation rather than the National Regulations, so the section numbers are different. Check the Queensland text rather than relying on ACECQA guidance written for NQF services.

Provider and service approvals

Part 2 of the Act sets up Queensland provider approvals and Part 3 sets up Queensland service approvals. Under section 41, an approved provider needs a separate service approval for each service it operates, and under section 48 a service approval must be refused if the applicant does not hold a provider approval. The chief executive of the department decides applications and can amend, transfer, suspend or cancel approvals.

Section 15 deals with whether a person is suitable to operate or be involved in a QEC service. A person is not suitable unless they hold a working with children authority, commonly called a blue card, or have made an application for a working with children check exemption. A person is also not suitable while a prohibition notice is in force against them. Approved providers should keep evidence of the blue card status of everyone involved in the service.

The Education and Care Services Regulation 2026

The detailed operating rules are in the Education and Care Services Regulation 2026, which commenced on 1 September 2026 and replaced the 2013 Regulation. It covers the educational program, serious incidents, incident records, notifying parents, risk assessments, educator qualifications and educator to child ratios. For example, section 33 requires an incident, injury, trauma or illness record to be made within 24 hours, and section 22 requires parents to be told about an injury or illness within 24 hours.

The department says most of the 2026 changes bring QEC approved services into line with rules NQF services have followed for several years. They include requirements for the regular transport of children, sleep and rest practices, adoption of the national child safe principles, a ban on vaping, policies on digital technology and online environments, and revised timeframes for notifying physical or sexual abuse of a child. Some new requirements have transition periods of 1 or 3 months.

Compliance and who to contact

The Department of Education approves and regulates QEC services. Its response to non-compliance is risk based, so it depends on the risk to children's health, safety and wellbeing. Action can range from verbal advice and guidance through to closing a service or prosecuting an approved provider. If you are not sure whether your service needs an approval, or whether it belongs under this Act or the National Law, contact the department's early childhood regulatory team before you begin operating.

Questions people ask about the Education and Care Services Act 2013 (Qld)

• Is limited hours care in Queensland regulated under the National Quality Framework?
• What is a QEC approved service?
• Do I need an approval to care for a small number of children in Queensland?
• What changed in the Education and Care Services Regulation 2026?
• Do staff at a QEC approved service need a blue card?
• Can a QEC approved service refuse to enrol a child who is not immunised?