Child Care Act 2001

The Secretary must issue the Child Care Standards.

The Standards may provide for any matter relating or incidental to the provision of child care and the operation or provision of child care services.

Without limiting subsection (2), the Standards may make provision with respect to the following matters:the regulation of – child care and child care services; and the persons operating or providing child care and child care services; and persons employed by the operators or providers of child care and child care services; and responsible persons; the internal administration of operators or providers of child care and child care services; the physical specifications of premises at which child care or a child care service is operated or provided; all matters connected with the safety and wellbeing of children being provided with child care or a child care service; the assessment of – the operators or providers of child care or child care services; and persons employed by the operators or providers, or employed in the operation or provision, of child care or child care services; and other responsible persons – and the provision of assessments and the recognition of assessments and qualifications gained by such persons; classes of licences; all matters relating to – the approval and registration of persons as child carers by an approved registration body; and the arrangement and placing of children with child carers by an approved registration body; and the taking of disciplinary action by an approved registration body against a child carer registered with that approved registration body; the taking of disciplinary action by the Secretary against the operators or providers of a child care service; exemptions under section 7; dispute resolution; principles and matters on which the Secretary or another person is to base any direction, decision or determination under this Act, the regulations or the Standards; the review of any direction, decision or determination made under this Act, the regulations or the Standards; amendment, revocation and substitution of the Standards; administration of the Standards; enforcement of the Standards; any other matter for which the Secretary considers it appropriate for the Standards to provide.

The Standards may be made so as to apply differently according to matters, limitations or restrictions, whether as to time, circumstance or otherwise, specified in the Standards.

The Standards may – provide that a contravention of any of the Standards is an offence; and in respect of such an offence, provide for the imposition of a fine not exceeding 20 penalty units and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding 5 penalty units for each day during which the offence continues.

The Standards may authorise any matter to be from time to time determined, applied or regulated by the Secretary or another person specified in the Standards.

The Standards may adopt either wholly or partly and with or without modification, and either specifically or by reference, any enactment, any regulations or other instrument made under an enactment or any other document wherever made whether the enactment, regulations, instrument or document was made or published before or after the commencement of this section.

A reference in subsection (7) to an enactment, regulations or another instrument made under an enactment or any other document includes a reference to an amendment to the enactment, regulations or other instrument made under an enactment or the other document, whether the amendment is published or issued before or after the commencement of this section.

If the Standards require the Commissioner of Police to provide a report in respect of any person, sections 22(1), 31(1), 45(1) and 108 of the Youth Justice Act 1997 do not apply to the identification in that report of a youth, within the meaning of that Act, in respect of any action or proceedings referred to in those sections.

The Standards must be consistent with this Act, the regulations and the public interest.

If there is an inconsistency between the Standards and this Act or the regulations, the Standards are invalid to the extent of the inconsistency.

The Standards – are to be treated for all purposes as a law of the State; and are not a statutory rule for the purposes of the Rules Publication Act 1953.