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This is the Child Care Services Act 2007.
This Act comes into operation as follows:
sections 1 and 2 — on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent;
the rest of the Act — on a day fixed by proclamation, and different days may be fixed for different provisions.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —
amendment application means an application under section 32 for the amendment of a licence;
approved means approved by the CEO;
carer has the meaning given in the Children and Community Services Act 2004 section 3;
CEO means the chief executive officer of the Department;
child means a person who is under 18 years of age, and in the absence of positive evidence as to age, means a person who is apparently under 18 years of age;
child care service has the meaning given in section 4;
compliance notice means a compliance notice given under section 43M;
compliance purposes means the purposes of performing one or more of the functions mentioned in section 41A;
corporate applicant means a licence applicant that is a body corporate but is not a public authority;
corporate licensee means a licensee that is a body corporate but is not a public authority;
criminal record check means a document issued by the Police Force of Western Australia, the Australian Federal Police or another body or agency approved by the CEO that sets out, or summarises in a manner acceptable to the CEO, the criminal convictions of an individual for offences under the law of this State, the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory;
Department means the department of the Public Service principally assisting the Minister in the administration of this Act;
departmental officer means a person employed in, or engaged for the purposes of, the Department;
entry warrant means an entry warrant issued under Part 4 Division 2;
family day care service means a type of child care service prescribed as a family day care service for the purposes of this Act;
individual applicant means a licence applicant who is an individual;
licence means a licence under this Act;
licence applicant means —
in the case of a licence application made on behalf of a public authority — the public authority; and
in the case of any other licence application — the person who makes the application;
licence application means an application under section 10;
licence document means a licence document issued under section 33;
licensee means a person who holds a licence;
licensing officer means a person designated as a licensing officer under section 40(1);
managerial officer, in relation to a body corporate, means —
if the body corporate is an incorporated association as defined in the Associations Incorporation Act 2015 section 3, a member of the association who —
holds a prescribed office of the association; or
has a function of a prescribed class relating to the provision of a child care service by the association;
or
in any other case, an individual who is an officer, as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Commonwealth) section 9, of the body corporate;
national child care law means the Education and Care Services National Law (WA);
occupier, of a place, includes any person who appears to have the control or management of the place;
parent, in relation to a child, means a person who at law has responsibility for —
the long‑term care, welfare and development of the child; or
the day‑to‑day care, welfare and development of the child;
place means anywhere at all, and includes anywhere in or on something that is moving or can move;
prescribed means prescribed by regulations made under section 52;
public authority means —
a department of the Public Service; or
a State agency or instrumentality; or
a local government, regional local government or regional subsidiary; or
a body, whether corporate or unincorporate, or the holder of an office, post or position, established or continued for a public purpose under a written law;
record means any record of information, irrespective of how the information is recorded or stored or able to be recovered and includes —
any thing from which images, sounds or writings can be reproduced, with or without the aid of anything else; and
any thing on which information is recorded or stored, whether electronically, magnetically, mechanically or by some other means;
relative has the meaning given in the Children and Community Services Act 2004 section 3;
relevant record means a record or document that —
is required to be kept under this Act; or
contains information that is or may be relevant to a contravention of this Act;
renewal applicant means a person who makes a renewal application;
renewal application means an application under section 22 for the renewal of a licence;
supervising officer has the meaning given in section 5A;
suspension notice means a notice under section 25(1);
usual occupant, in relation to a licence application that relates to a family day care service, means —
a person other than the licence applicant who usually lives at the place where the service will be provided; or
any other person who is likely to be present at that place at the times when the service will be provided;
wellbeing, in relation to children, includes the care, development, health and safety of children.
[Section 3 amended: No. 38 of 2011 s. 4; No. 11 of 2012 s. 21; No. 30 of 2015 s. 212; No. 26 of 2016 s. 35; No. 2 of 2026 s. 102.]
For the purposes of this Act, a child care service is a service providing or intended to provide education and care on a regular basis to children under 13 years of age (or such other age as may be prescribed for the purposes of this section) that —
is not an education and care service under the national child care law; and
is prescribed for the purposes of this Act as a type of service to which this Act applies.
[Section 4 inserted: No. 11 of 2012 s. 22.]
For the purposes of this Act, the supervising officer for a child care service at a particular time is —
if the licensee for the service is an individual —
the licensee; or
another individual who is approved by the CEO, in accordance with the regulations, to act in place of the licensee at that time;
or
if the licensee for the service is a body corporate or public authority, an individual who is —
approved by the CEO, in accordance with the regulations, as a person suitable to have responsibility for the day‑to‑day supervision and control of the service; and
nominated by the licensee, in accordance with the regulations, as the supervising officer for the service at that time.
Regulations made for the purposes of subsection (1)(b)(ii) must not allow a licensee for a child care service to nominate 2 or more individuals as the supervising officer for the service at the same time.
[Section 5A inserted: No. 38 of 2011 s. 5.]
This Act does not apply to a child care service that is an associated children’s service to the extent to which the national child care law applies to that service.
Subject to subsection (1), this Act applies in relation to an associated children’s service provided at a place as if —
a service approval in relation to the associated children’s service, were a licence under this Act authorising the provision of the child care service at that place; and
an approved provider who is the holder of a service approval in relation to the associated children’s service, were a holder of a licence under this Act authorising the provision of the child care service at that place; and
a person with management or control in relation to the associated children’s service, the approved provider for which is a body corporate, were a managerial officer of the body corporate; and
a nominated supervisor in relation to the associated children’s service, were a supervising officer for the child care service.
Instead of amending a service approval, under section 32 as read with subsection (2), in relation to an associated children’s service, the CEO is to direct the Regulatory Authority to amend the service approval under section 55(5) of the national child care law.
If a term is given a meaning in the national child care law, it has the same meaning in this section.
[Section 5B inserted: No. 11 of 2012 s. 23.]
The object of this Act is to protect, and promote the best interests of, children who receive child care services.
A person or body with functions under this Act must, in the performance of those functions, regard the best interests of children as the paramount consideration.
In the administration of this Act the following principles must be observed —
the principle that a child care service should be provided to a child in a way that —
protects the child from harm; and
respects the child’s dignity and privacy; and
safeguards and promotes the child’s wellbeing; and
provides positive experiences for the child; and
stimulates and develops the child’s creative, emotional, intellectual, physical, recreational and social potential;
the principle that child care services should be provided in a way that —
involves parents of the children to whom the services are provided and other members of the community; and
reflects best practice in the care, education and recreation of young children; and
reflects the diverse nature of the community.
This Act binds the Crown in right of the State and, so far as the legislative power of Parliament permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.
A person must not provide a child care service at a place except under and in accordance with a licence authorising the provision of the service at that place.
Penalty:
for a first offence —
a fine of $12 000 and imprisonment for one year; and
a daily penalty of $600;
for a subsequent offence —
a fine of $24 000 and imprisonment for 2 years; and
a daily penalty of $1 200.
An application for a licence may be made to the CEO by —
an individual; or
a body corporate; or
in the case of a public authority that is not a body corporate, the chief executive officer (however described) of the public authority on behalf of the authority.