Early Childhood Safety & Regulatory Reforms in Western Australia. What Educators and Centres Need to Know in 2026

If you work in early childhood education in Western Australia, you have probably felt it already. The sector is changing.

Across Australia, governments have rolled out some of the strongest child safety and compliance reforms the ECEC sector has ever seen. Most of these changes were introduced from late 2025 and are now fully in effect in 2026. They are not just about paperwork or inspections. They affect who is allowed to work with children, how centres are regulated, and how families are protected.

For WA educators, centre directors, and approved providers, this shift directly shapes:

• How your service is monitored

• How staff are approved

• How compliance is enforced

• How recruitment is handled

This is not a small update. It is a fundamental change in how early learning is regulated.

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Why These Reforms Exist

In recent years, serious failures across parts of the childcare sector exposed weaknesses in how services were being monitored and how risks were managed. Families placed their trust in the system, and in some cases that trust was broken.

So governments acted.

The new national reforms, which WA has adopted through its regulatory framework, are designed to:

• Put child safety at the centre of all decisions

• Strengthen provider accountability

• Improve transparency for families

• Create more consistent standards across all states and territories

This is not a short-term crackdown.It is a permanent reset for early childhood education in Western Australia.

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What Has Actually Changed

These reforms give regulators, including WA’s Education and Care Regulatory Unit, more power and stronger tools to protect children and hold providers accountable.

Here is what that looks like in practice.

1. Regulators can now step in faster

WA regulators no longer need to wait for repeated breaches or major incidents before acting.They can now:

• Conduct unannounced visits and inspections

• Act on complaints more quickly

• Place conditions on services showing early warning signs

• Refuse, suspend, or cancel approvals where safety is at risk

This means WA services must maintain compliance and child safety standards every day, not just when assessments are scheduled.

2. Penalties are much stronger

As of 2026, WA services operating under the National Quality Framework face:

• Significantly higher fines for serious breaches

• More offences eligible for infringement notices

• Penalties for administrative failures, including missing records, incorrect staffing approvals, or failure to notify regulatory changes

Compliance is no longer a box to tick.It is a legal and professional obligation.

3. Regulators can investigate older issues

Previously, some serious incidents could not be pursued if too much time passed before they were discovered.

That loophole is now closed.

This means:

• Historical breaches can still be investigated

• Children and families are better protected

• Educators are less likely to be exposed to unsafe or non-compliant workplaces

In WA, this strengthens the ability of the regulator to act when serious concerns come to light, even if they occurred years earlier.

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What This Means for WA Educators

For educators working in Western Australia, these reforms are actually positive.

They:

• Protect ethical and qualified educators

• Push out unsafe and dishonest operators

• Raise the professional standards of the sector

• Make early childhood education a safer, more respected career

Your:

• Qualifications

• Conduct

• Compliance

• Honesty

Now matters more than ever.

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Why This Matters for Recruitment in WA

At Murdock Recruitment, we see the impact of these reforms across WA every day.

The new rules affect:

• Who can legally work in a WA early learning service

• How centres must screen and approve staff

• How compliance and misconduct history is assessed

• How false or misleading information is handled

Recruitment plays a critical role in both workforce stability and child safety. At Murdock Recruitment, quality, accountability, and professionalism have always been central to how we support WA early learning services.

Our recruitment approach focuses on:

• Protecting children

• Protecting early learning services

• Upholding the reputation of the profession

That is why we continue to uphold a high-quality recruitment process that includes:

• Thorough reference and compliance checks

• Verified employment history

• Clear regulatory status

• An ongoing commitment to child safety and professional standards

As regulations evolve, Murdock Recruitment remains committed to strengthening best practice and lifting recruitment standards across the WA early childhood sector.

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What WA Centres Need to Focus On Now

If you operate or manage an early learning service in Western Australia, the message is clear.

You need:

• A strong child safe culture

• Robust compliance systems

• Well trained and accountable staff

• Transparent recruitment processes

These are no longer best practices.They are the new minimum standard under WA regulation.

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The Bigger Picture

These reforms are not designed to punish the sector. They are designed to restore trust.

• Families need confidence.

• Children need safety.

• Educators need professional respect.

Western Australia’s early learning sector deserves a framework that protects those who are doing the right thing.

At Murdock Recruitment, we support the future of early childhood education by connecting WA centres with educators who are skilled, professional, and consistently demonstrate excellence through their practice and commitment to quality care.