Licensing criteria for home-based ECE services

Section 10 of the Education and Training Act 2020(external link) defines home-based ECE services as the provision of education or care, for gain or reward, to children who are under the age of 5 years, or who are aged 5 years but not enrolled at school, in:

  • the children’s own home; or
  • the home of the person providing the education or care; or
  • any other home nominated by a parent of the children.

These services are licensed in accordance with the Education and Training Act 2020 under the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008(external link), which prescribe minimum standards that each licensed service must meet. Licensing criteria are used to assess how the services meet the minimum standards required by the regulations.

For each criterion there is guidance to help services meet the required standards.

The publication of the criteria on its own can be downloaded as a PDF [PDF, 1.3 MB] and printed.

The licensing criteria were last updated in September 2022.

Health and safety practices

46 Health and safety practices standard: general

(1) The health and safety practices standard: general is the standard that requires every licensed service provider to whom this regulation applies to—

(a) take all reasonable steps to promote the good health and safety of children enrolled in the service; and

(b) take all reasonable precautions to prevent accidents and the spread of infection among children enrolled in the service; and

(c) take all reasonable steps to ensure that the premises, facilities, and other equipment on those premises are—

(i) kept in good repair; and
(ii) maintained regularly; and
(iii) used safely and kept free from hazards; and

(d) take all reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate procedures are in place to deal with fires, earthquakes, and other emergencies.

(2) Each licensed service provider to whom this regulation applies must comply with the health and safety practices standard: general.

The criteria in this section are grouped together by topic. Each criterion has also been given a short, descriptive title. These titles are provided only to help you navigate around more easily on the website - they do not form part of the criteria themselves.

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