The start of 2026 has seen challenging weather conditions, with bushfires devastating parts of Victoria. These events have affected many early childhood communities.
Under Education and Care Services National Law, all early childhood education providers and services are required to prepare for, manage and respond to risks associated with heat and fire danger warnings.
Services must be able to respond quickly and effectively to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of children, staff, volunteers, visitors and contractors at the service.
For all early childhood education and care (ECEC) services:
- Providers must assess all possible risks to their services as part of their emergency management requirements. This includes the risk of bushfires and grassfires.
- Services that have been assessed as higher on the Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR) or grassfire (Category 4) because of their location will have additional requirements imposed as conditions on the service approval. Failing to comply may lead to enforcement action.
- Services on the BARR or Category 4 must close pre-emptively on days that have been declared Catastrophic in their Fire Weather District.
- It is important that you keep families up to date and informed of your actions relating to extreme heat, bushfire and other emergencies.
For family day care (FDC) services:
- Many residences and venues are located in areas identified as high fire danger risk, and/or grassfire risk. Approved providers must keep an accurate register of FDC residences and venues located in areas identified as bushfire and/or grassfire risk.
- Approved providers must ensure that their service and FDC residences and venues meet the conditions placed on the service approval relating to bushfire risks.
Safety advice for heatwaves
Extreme heatwaves can be dangerous for everyone. Severe heatwaves can be dangerous for many people, especially children, babies, older people, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people with medical conditions and people who are unwell.
To stay safe during heatwaves:
- use fans or air-conditioners to keep cool, where available
- stay hydrated by drinking water regularly, stay cool indoors, check in on staff and children under your care and reschedule activities where possible.
Accessing emergency information and support
Services are reminded to connect to official sources of emergency information, including:
- the Vic Emergency app (available for download)
- the Vic Emergency site, a centralised website for Victorians to find emergency information and warnings
- local emergency broadcasters such as ABC local radio, commercial and select community radio stations, or SkyNews TV
- the Vic Emergency Hotline on 1800 226 226
- the Better Health website for heat-related health advice.
There are supports available for communities that have been impacted by fire.
You can contact the Emergency Recovery Hotline on 1800 560 760 from 9 am to 5 pm every day for information about community and state-wide recovery programs that may be available after a major disaster.
Providers are required to notify the Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA) of incidents and closures. Visit the VECRA website for more information. Early childhood closures will be published on the Department of Education's website.
Please prioritise your safety and wellbeing and look out for one another.
Updated