Child safe practices for digital technologies and personal electronic devices

Centre-based services include:

• long day care, kindergarten, and outside school hours care services approved to operate under the National Law; and
• licensed children’s services, including occasional care and limited hours services, approved to operate under the CS Act.

The approved provider of a centre-based service must ensure that:

• only service-issued devices are used to take images or videos of children
• strict controls are in place for the storage and retention of images and videos of children at every service
• people working directly with children do not have personal electronic devices with them when they are working directly with children, except for limited essential purposes approved by the provider. Read about restricted devices and essential purposes
• each service updates the following policies and procedures:
  • regulation 168 of the National Regulations for centre-based services under the NQF
  • regulation 112 of the CS Regulations for occasional care or limited hours services.

The approved provider of a family day care service must ensure that:

• only service-issued devices are used to take images or videos of children
• there are strict controls in place for the storage and retention of images and videos of children at every family day care residence
• people working directly with children can have their own personal devices with them however it must not impede the active supervision of children
• every service updates the following policies and procedures under regulation 168 and 169 of the National Regulations for family day care services under the NQF.

Family day care educators can take images or videos of children however they must use a device that:

• is only used for providing education and care – it cannot be used for personal use, and
• is registered with the approved provider.

Once the device is registered with the approved provider it is considered a ‘service-issued’ device.

• Staff and volunteers identify and mitigate risks in the online and physical environments without compromising a child’s right to privacy, access to information, social connections and learning opportunities (9.1).
• The online environment is used in accordance with the organisation’s Code of Conduct and Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy (Child Safe Environment Policy) and practices (9.2).
• Risk management plans consider risks posed by organisational setting, activities and the physical environment (9.3).

What approved providers have to show

You could demonstrate your compliance by having the following documents:

• Risk assessments that identify risks of child abuse and harm:
  • in both physical and online environments connected with the organisation
  • from the use of electronic devices for taking, sending and storing images or videos of children while they attend the service (Child Safe Standards 9.1, 9.3).
• Risk management plans that:
  • list the actions the organisation will take to prevent or reduce each of the risks of child abuse and harm
  • address the use of electronic devices for taking, sending and storing images or videos of children while they attend the service (Child Safe Standard 9.3).
• The Code of Conduct and Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy (Child Safe Environment Policy) that identify how the organisation will keep children safe:
  • in physical and online environments
  • in higher-risk activities, including staff using electronic devices for taking, sending and storing images or videos of children while they attend the service (Child Safe Standards 9.2, 9.3).

• Policies and procedures address all Child Safe Standards (11.1)
• Policies and procedures are documented and easy to understand (11.2)
• Best practice models and stakeholder consultation inform the development of policies and procedures (11.3)
• Leaders champion and model compliance with policies and procedures (11.4)
• Staff and volunteers understand and implement policies and procedures (11.5)

What approved providers have to show

Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy (Child Safe Environment Policy) and Safe Use of Digital Technologies and Online Environments Policy

You could demonstrate your compliance by having the following documents:

• a Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy (Child Safe Environment Policy)
• a Safe Use of Digital Technologies and Online Environments Policy.

This should also include information about the service’s expectations and approach to the use of electronic devices for:

• taking
• sending, and
• storing images and videos of children.

ACECQA has developed updated policy and procedure guidelines for:

• Providing a Child Safe Environment
• Safe Use of Digital Technologies and Online Environments Policy

They can both be downloaded at: Preparing NQF Policies and Procedures.

These documents relate to Child Safe Standards 11.1, 11.2 and links to 2.3. They are also required under:

• regulation 168 of the National Regulations for NQF services, or
• regulation 112 of the CS Regulations for occasional care or limited hours services.

Code of Conduct

Providers must also update their Code of Conduct for staff that sits within the service staffing policies and procedures. It sets the service’s expectations for behaviour and responsibilities of staff and volunteers in relation to:

• the use of personal devices in services
• the approach to taking, sending and storing images or videos of children while they attend the service.

This document relates to:

• the National Model Code
• Child Safe Standards 11.1, 11.2 and links to 2.4
• regulation 168 of the National Regulations, or regulation 112 of the CS Regulations.

The SRE-NMC applies to the following services:

• long day care
• kindergarten
• outside hours care including Vacation Care
• family day care
• occasional care
• limited hours.

The restricted devices under the SRE-NMC are:

• personal devices that can take images or videos, and
• personal storage and file transfer media.

For example:

• phones
• tablets
• digital cameras
• smart watches with camera/recording functionality
• wearables, such as camera glasses
• SD cards
• USB drive
• hard drives.

These restrictions apply to any person working in :

• long day care
• kindergarten
• Outside School Hours Care
• Family Day Care
• occasional care
• limited hours services, who is:
  • providing education and care; and
  • working directly with children.

Examples include:

• teachers and educators, including casual and agency staff
• students attending the service as part of a practicum
• representatives of tertiary providers who attend the service to assess students
• volunteers, including parent volunteers
• anyone delivering programs or incursion activities to children in a service. This can be either on a paid or unpaid basis
• allied health and inclusion professionals attending a service to observe, assess or work with a child
• mentors or coaches attending the service to support teachers or educators, who are working with children
• preschool field officers
• primary school teachers attending a service as part of a school transition program.

Where a professional attends a service to work with a child, they must use a device that is:

• issued by their business or institution, and
• used only for work purposes (and not personal use).

The service’s child safe policies and procedures will apply in these situations. Child Safe Standard 9 is particularly relevant.

Services may consider facilitating the use of a service-issued device where:

• a student attending the service as part of a practicum, or
• a visiting allied health or inclusion professional needs to take images or videos but has no business or institution-issued device.

Services should include information about this process in their policies and procedures.

Teachers and educators cannot use personal devices to receive multi-factor authentication messages while they are working directly with children.

Services using Arrival will receive further advice from the department on how to:

• implement the restrictions, and
• continue to access and use Arrival to sign children in and out of the service.

For enquiries about using or accessing Arrival, contact the Arrival Implementation team at arrival.implementation@education.vic.gov.au

The restrictions only apply to people who are:

• providing education and care, and
• working directly with children.

The SRE-NMC does not apply to:

• parents and carers attending the service to drop off or pick up their child
• Victorian Regulatory Authority Authorised Officers
• Police
• officers of other regulators, such as environmental health officers
• people who attend the service but are not working with children or providing education or care. For example: gardeners, maintenance staff, IT technicians or others.

Services should include information about how these situations will be managed in their:

• child safe policies and procedures, and
• supervision requirements.

The National Model Code lists ‘essential purposes’ when services can authorise:

• the possession of personal devices, and
• the use of personal devices.

The following are a list of these ‘essential purposes’:

• communication in an emergency situation to ensure safety
  • involving a lost child, injury to child or staff member, or other serious incident
  • in the case of a lockdown or evacuation of the service premises
• personal health requirements
  • for example, heart or blood sugar level monitoring
• disability
  • for example, where a personal electronic device is an essential means of communication for an educator or other staff member
• family necessity
  • for example, an early childhood staff member with an ill family member
• technology failure
  • for example, when a temporary outage of service-issued electronic devices has occurred
• during a local emergency event to receive emergency notifications
  • this could include government warning systems such as a bushfire evacuation text notification.

The use of personal devices must not impede the active supervision of children.

The use of personal electronic devices for emergency communications is only allowed in the following situations:

• during excursions and regular outings. For example, when groups of children and educators get split up
• when children are transported or travel on transport arranged by the service.

Routine communications during bush, beach or other nature programs are not considered an ‘essential purpose’. Personal devices are not permitted, except for authorised ‘essential purposes’.

Approved providers must ensure there are sufficient service-issued devices available when programs are delivered outside service premises.

All authorisations must be documented by the approved provider, in advance wherever possible.

Authorisations must be:

• recorded in writing, and
• kept in suitable logs or registered, and stored securely.

If written authorisation is not possible (such as in emergencies) then there must be a record kept in another format.

All documentation should be available at the service for authorised officers to inspect.

Teachers, educators and other staff can use their personal devices:

• when they are not providing education and care, or
• working directly with children.

Examples could include:

• while taking a scheduled break from work, such as a lunch or tea break
• during planning time
• during administrative activities.

Staff can also carry and use personal electronic devices that are:

• not capable of taking images or videos, and
• not storage and file transfer media.