Legislation Affecting Students

  • Vocational Education and Training Act (regulates vocational education and training)
  • Occupational Health and Safety (you are required to maintain a safe environment)
  • Privacy Act (ACAS may not disclose your information without your written consent)
  • Duty of Care legislation (in cases of minors)
  • Copyright Act (Respect copyright.)
  • Consumer law (ACAS must advertise honestly and provide what is advertised.)
  • Austudy/Abstudy Your eligibility and application procedures
  • Regarding access and equity regardless of race, gender or disability:
  1. WA Equal Opportunity Act 1984
  2. WA Disability Services Act 1993
  3. Commonwealth Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Act 1986
  4. Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act 1975
  5. Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act 1984
  6. Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992

If you work with children, the following is relevant to you:

Working with Children (Criminal Record Checking) Act 2004 (WA) is being phased in.

People working with children aged 0-7 will need police clearances before the end of 2006. Other requirements are also to be phased in later.

(By the way, insurers also increasingly require police clearances for working with children.)

There is now also a specialised "Working With Children" website at www.checkwwc.wa.gov.au

Community Services (Child Care) Regulations 1988 (WA) and Community Services (Outside School Hours Care) Regulations 1988 (WA).

Childcare students who are to prepare food in child care for children aged 0-6 years are required to complete the relevant unit through an RTO.

The Children & Community Services Act

The Children & Community Services Act will be proclaimed in March 2006. A new Act requires new regulations. Much of the information previously included in the regulations will be contained in the new Act so you will need to look at both the regulations and the Act. Full details of the Act are available on the web at the Community Services website: www.community.wa.gov.au.

Part 8 relates to Childcare. (Terms are explained in Part 1, objectives in Part 2, appointment of licensing officers in Part 4.) The new Act replaces three old Acts which are now quite outdated.

Significant changes include:

  • Must be one supervising officer for one service at a time
  • Creches now included in the Act
  • More power to scrutinize suitability of license applicants
  • Licenses up to 3 years
  • No more permits but licenses with conditions
  • CEO has ability to place conditions on a license

The regulations will be introduced in two phases: The first phase will deal with urgent issues without changing the status quo too much. There will be four sets of regulations instead of two (Family Day Care is now separate) and the format will follow the ‘Outside School Hours Care’ regulations format. Higher-level issues will be dealt with in the second phase.

Large crèches may be exempt from the conditions of the act, although the details are still being consulted. (In any case, duty of care requirements will still apply.) Likely factors are:

  • How many times a week do they run? (Probably no more than twice a week, perhaps with some allowances for one- year events like the Hopman Cup.)
  • How close with the parents be? (Probably within 50 metres)
  • Would there be a minimum age? (Children will probably have to be at least tow months old.)

Contact Department of Community Development  for any other information: 92222 818.