Health and safety self-check
Check children's health and safety at Meeting and Exceeding, then workers' health and safety, using observe, discuss, sight.
Yaga Smart | www.yagasmart.com.au
WHS essentials for early childhood services
Work health and safety in one short guide: who has to do what, how to manage a risk, the hazards most services deal with, what to report and who to call.
How to use it
- Read it with your leadership team, and check the laws for your state or territory.
- Ask your team which three hazards worry them most.
- Fill in the action table at the end, and review it at your next team meeting.
Not sure what to fix first? Book a free 20-minute risk scan and we’ll point out the risks we can see.
Who has to do what
Every state and territory has the model WHS laws, with some local changes, except Victoria, which has its own occupational health and safety laws. This guide follows the model laws. Approved codes of practice aren't law, but following one will usually meet your duties, and a court can use one to decide what was reasonably practicable.
The service
Usually called the PCBU, the person conducting a business or undertaking. It must keep workers safe, and others the work affects, such as children, families and visitors, so far as is reasonably practicable. That includes psychological health, and it must consult workers.
Officers
People who make decisions affecting the whole business or a substantial part of it, such as company directors. They must use due diligence to make sure the service meets its duties. The test is the decisions a person makes, not their job title.
Workers
Everyone who works at the service, including casuals, contractors, students and volunteers. They must take reasonable care of themselves and others, follow reasonable instructions and cooperate with reasonable policies.
Manage a risk in four steps
Consult your workers, and any health and safety representatives, at every step.
- Step 1
Identify hazards
Walk the rooms and the yard, read your incident records, and ask your team what worries them. Include psychological hazards.
- Step 2
Assess the risk
Ask what could happen, how bad it would be and how likely it is. Skip this if the hazard and the way to control it are already widely understood.
- Step 3
Control the risk
Remove it if you can. If you can't, reduce it as far as is reasonably practicable, starting with the strongest control in the table below.
- Step 4
Review
Check the control works in practice, and look again after an incident, a change, or when your team raises it.
Choose the strongest control you can
These run from strongest to weakest. Administrative controls and protective equipment come last, because they leave the hazard in place and rely on people getting it right every time.
| Control | What it means | In a service |
|---|---|---|
| Eliminate | Get rid of the hazard. | Repair the cracked path. Take the wobbly shelf off the wall. |
| Substitute | Use something safer. | Swap glass storage jars for plastic. Choose a ready-to-use cleaner, so nobody has to mix concentrate. |
| Isolate | Separate people from it. | Gate off the laundry. Rope off the yard while the ground is being repaired. |
| Engineer | Change the equipment or layout. | Install a height-adjustable change bench. Put wheels on heavy toy storage. |
| Administrative | Change how the work is done. | Rotate who works in the heaviest rooms. Have two people move the climbing frame. |
| Protective equipment | Protect the person. | Disposable gloves for nappy changes. Non-slip shoes for wet areas. |
Hazards most services deal with
| Hazard | Where it shows up | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| Lifting and floor-level work | Getting toddlers on and off change benches, settling children in cots, long stretches on the floor or on child-size chairs, and shifting outdoor equipment. | Pull-out steps where it's safe for toddlers to climb, adult-height seats and kneeling pads, wheels instead of carrying, and rotating people out of the heaviest rooms. |
| Slips, trips and falls | Water play spills, wet bathroom floors, loose mats, cluttered storerooms and reaching for high displays. | Mop up as you go, secure or remove loose mats, check outdoor paths after rain, and keep a stable step stool for high jobs. |
| Infectious disease | Nappy changes, body fluids and close care of unwell children. | Handwashing, gloves and the exclusion periods in Staying Healthy (6th edition). Encourage the vaccines the Australian Immunisation Handbook recommends for early childhood staff: influenza, pertussis and hepatitis A, plus MMR and varicella if non-immune. |
| Pregnancy, injury or illness | Infection risks in pregnancy, rooms with a lot of lifting, and existing injuries. | Talk with the worker and agree adjustments together. Don't assume what someone can or can't do, and follow what their doctor has advised. |
| Chemicals | Sanitisers, disinfectants and laundry products. | Keep products in labelled containers, hold a safety data sheet for each hazardous chemical, store them where children can't reach, follow the mixing instructions, and wear the gloves the label calls for. |
| Electrical | Frayed leads, power boards under benches, washing machines, dryers and kitchen appliances. | Pull damaged items from use straight away and report them, test safety switches, and have faults fixed by a licensed electrician. |
| Sun and heat | Outdoor play, yard duty and hot rooms. | Shade, hats, sunscreen, water and rotating outdoor duties. |
| Psychosocial hazards | Workload, missed breaks, low support, conflict, aggression and distressing events. | Manage them like any other risk. Start with our psychosocial hazard checklist. |
A serious incident can mean two notifications
WHS law and the Education and Care Services National Law have separate reporting duties. If a child is seriously hurt, both can apply.
| Tell | What | How fast |
|---|---|---|
| Your WHS regulator | A death, a serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident that arises from your work. It can involve a worker, a child or anyone else. | Immediately after you become aware of it |
| Your education regulatory authority | Serious incidents involving a child, including a death, a serious injury, illness or trauma, an emergency that emergency services attended, and a child who is missing, or locked in or out. | Within 24 hours, through the NQA IT System |
Under the model laws, leave the site as it is until an inspector arrives or says otherwise, unless you need to help someone or make it safe, and keep a record of the incident for at least five years. Victoria has its own rules, so check with WorkSafe Victoria. Changes to the model law published in December 2025 add to this list, including some violent incidents and worker absences of 15 or more days. They apply only once your state or territory adopts them. The ACT made similar changes on 19 November 2025, so ask your regulator what applies now.
Emergencies and injuries
- Your emergency plan is easy to find, tells workers and visitors what to do, and is reviewed regularly
- Emergency and evacuation procedures are rehearsed every three months, and each rehearsal is recorded
- First aid kits are stocked, and someone with a current first aid qualification is always there with children
- Injuries and near misses are recorded, and followed up with the team
- Injured workers know how to make a workers' compensation claim, and your insurer is told promptly
- A return-to-work plan is agreed with the worker and fits what their doctor has advised
Records to keep
- Risk assessments and hazard actions, with owners and dates
- Incident and near miss records, and any notifications you made
- Consultation records, and what you told staff afterwards
- Induction and training records
- Safety data sheets and your chemical register
- Equipment maintenance and electrical checks
Who to call to report an incident
| Where | WHS regulator | Incident line |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | SafeWork NSW www. | 13 10 50 |
| Victoria | WorkSafe Victoria www. | 13 23 60 |
| Queensland | Workplace Health and Safety Queensland www. | 1300 362 128 |
| South Australia | SafeWork SA www. | 1800 777 209 |
| Western Australia | WorkSafe WA www. | 1800 678 198 |
| Tasmania | WorkSafe Tasmania www. | 1300 366 322, or (03) 6166 4600 from outside Tasmania |
| Northern Territory | NT WorkSafe worksafe. | 1800 019 115 |
| ACT | WorkSafe ACT www. | 13 22 81, or 0419 120 028 after hours |
These are the lines each regulator lists for reporting incidents, checked on their websites on 31 October 2026. Some also ask for a written notice, and each website explains how to notify. For general questions, see Safe Work Australia's contact list.
Your first three hazards
| Hazard | Risk rating | What we'll change | Who owns it | By when | Did it help? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In an emergency, call 000.
Want your team across this?
A free 20-minute risk scan points out the risks we can see. We run practical PD for early childhood and OSHC teams, on site or online.
Written by Yaga Smart. Includes information from the model WHS laws and guidance published by Safe Work Australia (© Commonwealth of Australia), summarised and changed by us, plus ACECQA's Guide to the National Quality Framework, and the health guidance linked above. Read the source. Checked 31 October 2026.
Important: please read
This tool is general information only, provided free and as is. It is not legal, WHS or other professional advice. It is not an official tool of ACECQA, a regulatory authority or a WHS regulator, and using it doesn't make Yaga Smart your adviser.
You stay responsible for your service's compliance and for the decisions you make. Requirements vary by state and territory and they change, so confirm your obligations with your regulator or a qualified adviser before relying on anything here.
We don't promise this tool is complete, current or right for your service. Using it doesn't guarantee a rating, an assessment result or any regulatory outcome, and it doesn't show that a risk has been managed.
To the fullest extent the law allows, Yaga Smart and its people aren't liable for any loss, damage, cost, claim or penalty that comes from using or relying on this tool, including through negligence. Nothing here excludes rights that can't legally be excluded, including under the Australian Consumer Law. Our terms also apply: www.yagasmart.com.au/terms-and-conditions.
WHS laws differ between states and territories, and they change. This guide follows the model laws, so check what applies to your service with your regulator. © 2026 Yaga Smart. Free to use within your own service. Please don't resell or republish it.
Common questions
Do WHS laws apply to childcare services?
Yes. A service is a workplace, so WHS laws apply alongside the National Quality Framework. Every state and territory has the model WHS laws, with some local changes, except Victoria, which has its own occupational health and safety laws.
Who is the PCBU at a childcare service?
Usually the business or organisation that runs the service, which is often the approved provider. Officers and workers have their own duties too.
Is a centre director an officer under WHS law?
It depends on the decisions they make, not the job title. An officer makes or takes part in decisions that affect the whole business or a substantial part of it. If you're not sure, get advice.
What must a service report to the WHS regulator?
Under the model laws, a death, a serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident, immediately after becoming aware of it. Changes published in December 2025 add more, but they apply only once your state or territory adopts them.
How is WHS different from Quality Area 2?
Quality Area 2 of the National Quality Standard is about children's health and safety. WHS law protects workers and anyone else affected by the work. A service has to meet both, and a serious incident can mean reporting to two regulators.
Keep going
More free tools
Active supervision checklist
A one-shift check for room leaders: zones, positioning, transitions, handovers and a headcount log.
Psychosocial hazard checklist
Fifteen hazards in plain questions for early childhood and OSHC services, with a risk matrix and an action table.