The early childhood education and care sector is entering a period of significant change. Although many reforms have already come into effect over the past year, there are many more to come in 2026. These aim to further strengthen child protection, safety, transparency, and quality early learning outcomes outlined in the National Quality Framework.

Understanding what’s changing, when it’s happening, and what actions you need to take is essential to staying compliant and confident in the year ahead. In this blog, we break down the key updates you need to know and how Z Staffing is supporting care services and educators through every step of the transition. Let’s dive in!

National Educator Register

The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) is currently building a new National Early Childhood Worker Register (The Register) to strengthen child protection.

The national rollout of The Register will begin on 27 February, 2026. Approved service providers will have one month from this date to update The Register with information on their current workforce. The Register must also be updated:

• Within 14 days of a worker being employed.
• Within 14 days of becoming aware of any changes to existing information.

The Register will give regulatory bodies and service providers better visibility of who is working within the sector and where, supporting them to identify, monitor, and respond to any risks. This is a big step toward strengthening transparency and enhancing quality early education and care outcomes.

For approved providers, the Register will be built within the National Quality Agenda IT System. Specific staff information must be collected, recorded, and updated in The Register. This includes:

• Name.
• Date of birth.
• Contact information.
• Role at the service.
• Date of commencement.
• Service approval number of the service they are engaged with.
• Employment type.
• Relevant qualifications held.
• Evidence of completing mandatory training.
• Current Working With Children Check (WWCC).

This information will need to be recorded for all education and care workers, including:

• Educators.
• Volunteers.
• Students.
• Non-educator staff.
• Teachers.
• Nominated supervisors.
• Coordinators.
• Assistants.

Stay Compliant With Z

At Z Staffing, we understand the importance of staying compliant and transparent when it comes to employing childcare workers, especially on a casual basis. That’s why we’ve been working behind the scenes to stay ahead of these changes and prepare services for these new requirements.

Our team is building these data fields into your real-time reports on the Z Portal Dashboard, allowing you to access all required information easily in just a few clicks. This feature is due to go live before the national rollout date, giving services full visibility of all educators walking through your doors.

Mandatory National Child Safety Training

Starting on 27 February, 2026, mandatory child safety training must be completed by those working in early learning environments. This includes the following people:

• Persons with management and control.
• Nominated supervisors.
• Persons in day-to-day charge.
• Staff.
• Volunteers.
• Students.

There will be Foundation and Advanced training modules. Foundation training will be available from 27 February, 2026, whereas Advanced training will be available in July, 2026. 

Training is free and will be available to be completed online through Geccko; the Australia Government Department of Education’s digital learning platform for the early childhood sector.

To support staff to complete mandatory training, approved service providers can do the following:

• Close early for up to 5 hours annually to support staff to complete the training.
• Access wage subsidy grants.

Once training has been completed, participants will receive a completion certificate. Service providers have the responsibility to check and file this certificate for all staff to satisfy these new requirements.

Stay Compliant With Z

We have been keeping service providers and educators in the loop with these upcoming changes. If you haven’t already, we suggest creating a Geccko account now to prepare. Register for Geccko here.

Once this regulation is in full effect, all Z Educators must have completed the training in order to accept shifts. Certificates of completion will be uploaded to the Educator's profile in the App and will be able to be accessed by centres via the document download function in the Z app or portal.

National Police Checks

For Australian education and care services, a National Police Check in conjunction with a Working With Children Check (WWCC) is a common prerequisite for most industry roles.

A WWCC checks specifically for offences that involve children and threaten child safety, whereas a police check covers a broader range of offences such as Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs).

Even though a WWCC is mandatory and a police check is not, many employers are now requesting a separate police check for added security.

For anyone working with children, it is important to be aware of these changes. Although a National Police Check is not yet mandatory, it has the potential to in the future, and many service providers have already made it a requirement.

Stay Compliant With Z

At Z Staffing, we make it simple for service providers. If your service has mandated National Police Checks, we are able to set your centre requirements as having mandated the PCs. Then, only Educators who have a PC will be able to see and accept your shifts. PC's are readily accessible along with other educator documents via the App to download or downloadable from the Z portal. This information can give you peace of mind that every educator who engages with your service is an asset to your team, not a risk to it.

If you are working as a Z educator, we highly recommend that you complete a National Police Check if you haven't already. Once obtained, you can upload it to your profile or send it to us via email or chat and we will upload it for you.

Please ensure that:

• The document is a valid National Police Check.
• It is not specific to another industry.
• The correct issue date is entered if uploading it yourself to your profile.

Worker Retention Grant Pay Increase

In December 2024, the Australian Government introduced a Worker Retention Grant (WRG) for childcare services to help increase staff wages. Through this, participating service providers received funding to cover a 10% wage increase for all eligible staff, on top of their existing hourly rate. Z Educators would have received this if they had worked a shift at a centre who had opted into the WRG and notified Z Staffing.

In December 2025, the Grant was increased by an additional 5%, meaning that if an educator works for a provider who has opted in, they will now receive an extra 15% on top of their base hourly rate. There is nothing educators need to do to access this payment, they will automatically receive this extra 15% in their pay and see it reflected in their payslip. 

The good news is that more services will be eligible for the WRG in 2026. Previously, services that increased fees by more than 4.4% between 8 August, 2024 and 7 August, 2025 were not eligible. Now, these services can become eligible if their total fee increase does not exceed 8.6% over the 2 years from 8 August, 2024 to 7 August, 2026.

Apply for the Early Childhood Worker Retention Payment here.

Stay Compliant With Z

If you are a service provider with a Worker Retention Grant or are looking to apply, please make sure that you inform our team. We will advise you on the correct process regarding this to ensure each and every one of your workers is paid correctly.

Ban on Personal Devices

On 1 September, 2025, the Australian Government introduced a national ban on the use of personal devices in early childhood education and care settings. This includes phones, tablets, iPads, computers, cameras, smartwatches, and wearables.

Only service-issued devices are permitted for capturing, storing, or sharing images of children, enhancing child safety and privacy. Permission from parents must also be granted.

Stay Compliant With Z

In July 2025, we proactively introduced the Z Staffing No Personal Devices Policy, which applies to all educators and is now in effect.

Z Educators can access and read through the full policy on the Z App. We ask all educators to please take a moment to familiarise yourself with this policy. It covers some helpful aspects of the national ban, including when and where personal devices can be used, what to do in an emergency, and the consequences of failing to comply.

If you need to stay contactable, we are here to support you. For example, if you have children of your own in care or school, you are most welcome to provide the facility with our contact details. If we receive a call from them, we will contact the service you are working at to notify you instantly.

Conclusion

With multiple regulatory changes coming into effect in 2026, staying informed and prepared has never been more important for service providers and early childhood educators.

These new changes and compliance updates make child safety, wellbeing, and protection a top priority for more children. If services or educators fail to abide by these new laws, they can face some serious consequences, including:

• Hefty fines.
• Imprisonment.
• Lengthy investigations and court proceedings.
• A suspension or revoked quality rating.
• Forced service closure.
• Supervision orders.

At Z Staffing, we’re committed to making compliance simple. We’re updating our systems and processes to support you every step of the way. If you have questions or need guidance on any of the changes outlined above, our team is here to help, so you can focus on delivering safe, high-quality early learning experiences. Contact us today.