Key objectives
Consultations with the child care sector indicated that there was a need for greater flexibility in the legislative framework to allow for innovative child care service delivery. The sector was also supportive of a move towards reducing duplication of standards across various government and non-government agencies.
The Queensland child care legislation (Child Care Act 2002 and Child Care Regulation 2003) has addressed the issues raised in the consultation by:
- moving away from prescribing individual service types (for example, kindergarten, long day care, limited hours care)
- establishing a framework in which standards are set and monitored depending on a number of objective variables, ie number of children being cared for, number of hours children are in care, the ages of the children, and the setting of the service
- reducing duplication and level of complexity of previous standards
- introducing standards that allow for flexibility in service delivery.
The object of the legislation is to protect, and promote the best interests of children receiving child care (section 8 of the Act). The principles that guide how the Act will be administered, and how licensed services must be conducted are set out in section 9 of the Act. The guiding principles include the following:
- the best interests of a child are the paramount concern
- child care should be provided to a child in a way that:
- protects the child from harm
- respects the child's dignity and privacy
- promotes the child's wellbeing
- provides positive experiences to the child.
- licensed child care should be stimulating and develop the child's creative, emotional, intellectual, lingual, physical, recreational and social potential
- parents have the primary responsibility for the upbringing, protection and development of their children, and should be supported in that role
- child care should involve parents and the community, and reflect the multicultural and multilingual nature of the community.
Last updated: 23 June 2008.