How we regulate the Child Safe Standards
Our regulatory role, and how we monitor and enforce compliance with the Child Safe Standards in early childhood services in Victoria.
On this page
- Regulatory role
- Where an organisation operates in more than one sector
- Monitoring compliance with the Child Safe Standards
- Enforcing compliance with the Child Safe Standards
Regulatory role
The Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA) is the integrated sector regulator of the Child Safe Standards for early childhood services.
We:
- use our powers under the following laws to monitor and enforce compliance with the Standards
- Education and Care Services National Law (National Law), and
- the Children’s Services Act 1996
- monitor compliance with the Child Safe Standards as an integrated part of our regulatory approach, including when we visit services
- collaborate with
- the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) and
- other sector regulators where organisations operate in more than one sector.
The CCYP is the regulator of the Child Safe Standards for organisations that do not have a specified sector regulator.
Where an organisation operates in more than one sector
Every organisation that must comply with the Standards has a ‘sector regulator’:
- schools (government and independent), and
- registered training organisations
Where there are multiple regulators, VECRA collaborates with the other regulator or CCYP.
Open all
- Example 1
A non-government school operates an Early Learning Centre (ELC).
- VECRA regulates the ELC’s compliance with the Child Safe Standards as it is an approved education and care service under the National Law.
- VRQA regulates the school’s compliance with the Child Safe Standards. VECRA collaborates with VRQA in monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Child Safe Standards by the ELC.
- Example 2
A local Council operates different services for children and adults at a recreation complex, including:
-
a swimming pool which provides swimming lessons for children
-
a gym for adults
-
an approved children’s service that offers occasional care for children while their parents or carers use the pool or gym. The Council has child safety policies that apply to all services operating from the Council complex.
-
VECRA regulates the occasional care service’s compliance with the Child Safe Standards
-
CCYP regulates compliance by the other services provided by the Council. VECRA collaborates with CCYP in monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Standards.
Monitoring compliance with the Child Safe Standards
We monitor compliance with the Child Safe Standards at the same time as we monitor compliance with the other laws that regulate early childhood services.
Read about how we monitor compliance in early childhood services.
Enforcing compliance with the Child Safe Standards
We enforce compliance with the Child Safe Standards in the same way as we enforce compliance with other laws that regulate early childhood services.
Read about how we enforce compliance in early childhood services.
Early childhood education and care
Updated 27 March 2026
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