- The Crisafulli Government is delivering a fast-tracked reportable conduct scheme to deliver better protection for Queensland children.
- Organisations will be required to meet new standards by 1 July 2026.
- Amendments will also be made to strengthen rest period conditions to ensure strongest possible protections for Queensland children.
- The Crisafulli Government is making Queensland safer, and delivering a fresh start for Queensland.
The Crisafulli Government is making Queensland safer and delivering the strongest child protection system in the nation by fast-tracking the roll-out of the reportable conduct scheme.
Child protection services, educational services, early childhood education and care services will now be required to meet these new standards of reporting and investigating concerning behaviour from workers and volunteers by July 1, 2026.
Queensland's Reportable Conduct Scheme will now be fully operational from July next year, to boost safety for Queensland children, 1 year ahead of when it would have been fully operational under the former Government.
The Queensland Family and Child Commission will have independent oversight of the reportable conduct scheme.
It is one of the ways the Crisafulli Government is delivering for Queensland, by implementing better protection for Queensland children, after the former Labor Government failed to implement critical recommendations from reviews.
To further protect vulnerable children, the Crisafulli Government will also increase oversight over young children in early childhood and care settings by strengthening rest period conditions.
It means early childhood centres will be required to maintain staffing ratios during sleep times at the same ratio as all other times, for the safety of children.
The rest period changes will be introduced in amendments to the Education and Care Services National Law (Queensland) Act 2011 and the Education and Care Services Act 2013.
Minister for Child Safety Amanda Camm said the Crisafulli Government was delivering the fresh start Queenslanders voted for, exactly as promised.
"We are making Queensland safer by fast-tracking bolstered protections for Queensland's most vulnerable," Minister Camm said.
"The Crisafulli Government is committed to the safety of children across Queensland, whether that's in their home, at daycare, in residential care, or in their communities.
"I expect the highest level of compliance with the reportable conduct scheme, parents deserve to know that their child is being taken care of by an organisation that will investigate and report any allegation of harm by any of their workers against a child.
"These changes will also help identify concerning patterns of behaviour by workers that might not meet the threshold for criminal conduct."
Minister for Education John-Paul Langbroek said the changes are about protecting Queensland's most vulnerable.
"The Crisafulli Government is delivering the strongest child protection framework in the nation and changes to rest periods will put more eyes on children to keep them safe," Minister Langbroek said.
"We know this important change will go a long way in protecting our most vulnerable young Queenslanders.
"Parents deserve full confidence when they drop their kids at childcare services and the vast majority of centres are doing the right thing.
"Strengthening rest period conditions adds to steps we've already taken to bolster the early childhood regulatory watchdog, after the former Labor Government left additional full-time officers unfunded from July 2025."
The Department of Education will work with the sector to implement these changes, which will come into effect in early 2026.
