Queensland Regulatory Authority
This procedure outlines the Department of Education’s (the department’s) approach to using the centralised register for regulated home-based care services, including the effective management of access to, and use of, the register to support the risk-based regulatory functions of the Queensland Regulatory Authority. This procedure is to be read in conjunction with the department’s Regulating for Quality: The regulation of approved early childhood education and care services policy and the Regulating for Quality (R4Q) Framework (Regulating for Quality – Queensland’s risk-based approach to regulating early childhood education and care).
The centralised register comprises records of child-related employment conducted from homes within Queensland, including:
The register is owned and maintained by Blue Card Services (BCS) within the Department of Justice and Attorney-General (DJAG). Within the department, the register will be used by the Queensland Regulatory Authority, which sits within the Early Childhood and Community Engagement (ECCE) Division.
Prior to accessing the information in the register, an individual must be an authorised user. Under the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000 (Qld), the Director-General of the Department of Education (the Director-General) may authorise appropriately qualified public service employees to access the register. This power cannot be delegated.
Information sharing with other agencies
Term
Definition
Co-located regulated home-based care service
A co-located regulated home-based care service is a single household that provides more than one regulated home-based care service (e.g. a household where foster or kinship care and family day care or stand-alone care is provided).
Family day care service
A family day care service is an ECEC service that delivers education and care to children through the use of two more educators, operating from two or more residences or a family day care venue.
Foster carer
A foster carer is any individual, or two or more individuals, approved by DCSYW to care for a child subject to departmental intervention and an out-of-home care placement.
Foster and kinship care service
A foster and/or kinship care service is a non-government, licensed care service that may receive enquiries, conduct assessments of foster and kinship carer applicants, and provide training, supervision and support for foster and kinship carers.
Kinship carer
A kinship carer is any individual related to a child or a member of a child's community who is considered family or a close friend and who is approved by DCSYW to provide an out-of-home care placement for the child.
Monitoring visit
A monitoring visit is a visit (either announced or unannounced) by a Regulatory Officer to an ECEC service.
Notification
A notification is the provision of information from an approved provider of an education and care service under s174 of the Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 (Vic) or s124–127of the Education and Care Services Act 2013 (Qld). Approved providers must notify the Regulatory Authority when (among other things) any of the following occur:
Queensland education and care (QEC) approved service
A Queensland education and care approved service is a Queensland education and care service for which a service approval exists under the Education and Care Services Act 2013 (Qld).
Queensland education and care (QEC) service
A Queensland education and care service is a service that provides regulated education and care of children under 13 years of age, but does not include a sub-set of services, as detailed in section 8 of the Education and Care Services Act 2013 (Qld).
Regulated home-based care service
A regulated home-based care service is a service provided from a private home or a family-based out-of-home care arrangement, including: family day care; stand-alone care; foster care; kinship care; and provisionally approved care.
Regulating for Quality Framework
The Regulating for Quality Framework is a risk-based framework used by the Queensland Regulatory Authority to undertake its regulatory activities in a manner proportionate to the level of risk or harm posed to children attending ECEC services.
Regulatory Officer
A Regulatory Officer is an individual employed by the department in the function of the Queensland Regulatory Authority. A Regulatory Officer can include Directors RASQ, Managers RASQ, ECEC Directors, Early Childhood Manager, Team Leader, Authorised Officers and Early Childhood Officer.
Stand-alone care service
A stand-alone care service is a Queensland education and care service that:
Previous seven years shown. Minor version updates not included.
1.0 Centralised register for regulated home-based care services - User access and management procedure
For further information, please contact: Early Learning and Development BranchEarly Childhood & Education Improvement DivisionPhone: (07) 3028 8226
Uncontrolled copy. Refer to the Department of Education Policy and Procedure Register to ensure you have the most current version of this document.
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