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 providing 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 doesn't have a business or institution-issued device.

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

When working directly with children, teachers and educators cannot use personal devices to receive multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages.

Staff using Arrival for mandatory kindergarten data reporting or other administrative activities should only be doing so when they are not providing education and care and working directly with children.

Services using Arrival to record attendance have received further advice from the department on how to access and use Arrival without MFA to sign children in and out of the service.

For help using 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 staff member needs a personal electronic device to communicate
• family necessity
  • for example, an early childhood staff member with an ill family member
• technology failure
  • for example, when there is a temporary outage of service-issued electronic devices
• 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.

Personal electronic devices are only allowed in the following emergency 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.

Staff cannot use personal devices for routine communications during bush kinder, beach kinder or other nature programs. Personal devices are only permitted for authorised ‘essential purposes’.

Approved providers must provide enough service-issued devices for when programs are delivered away from the service.

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.

Services can authorise staff to use personal devices for essential purposes (see ‘Exceptions under the National Model Code – essential purposes’ above).

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.

• Smart watches that have inbuilt or remote camera or recording functions are not permitted under the regulations.
• The only exception is where smart watches do not have a camera or recording function.
• Services can ask staff who wear a smart watch without a camera or recording function to make a written declaration that their watch does not have this functionality.

• Staff can use service-issued devices to document and record routine activities. Staff can use service-issued devices to communicate with families about their child’s learning and participation at the service.
• Services must have policies and procedures on the safe use of digital technologies. This must include obtaining authorisation from parents and guardians to take, use and store images and videos of children at the service.

• Parents/guardians can carry their own personal devices when dropping off or picking up their child at a service.
• Parents/guardians should never take photographs on their own device at a service.
• The approved provider must inform families of the service’s digital devices procedures and policies.

• The personal device restrictions apply to all centre-based services including long day care, kindergarten, and outside school hours care services approved to operate under the National Law.
• All services are required to have a policy and procedures on the safe use of digital technologies and online environments that includes the use of digital devices by children being educated and cared for by the service.
• In line with policies in Victorian government schools, services can require that children’s devices are switched off and stored securely away, while children are attending outside school hours care.
• The NQF Child Safety Guides contain resources to support services to keep children safe while meeting their responsibilities under the NQF and other legislation: NQF Child Safety Guides

• Services must have policies for the safe use of digital technologies. This includes a clear set of guidelines that address the safe use of digital technologies and online environments at the service, including the following:
  • The taking, use, storage and destruction of images and videos of children being educated and cared for by the service.
  • Obtaining authorisation from parents to take, use and store images and videos of children being educated and cared for by the service.
  • The use of any optical surveillance device at the service (e.g. closed-circuit television).
  • The use of any digital device issued by the service.
  • The use of digital devices by children being educated and cared for by the service.
• As part of this, services must consider when developing their policies and procedures, the use of digital devices by visitors while at the service, including families at special events.
• In developing this, services need to meet their obligations under the National Law and National Regulations, and other applicable requirements such as the Child Safe Standards and the National Quality Standard.
• Services may decide to not allow parents and guardians to take photographs during special events. Photographs could instead be taken on a service-issued device and shared with families after the event.

• Visiting professionals and students should contact services before arriving to understand the service’s policies and procedures for the safe use of digital technologies and online environments
• Policies and procedures can vary between services to reflect each service’s operations and unique context.
• Services should have processes to record when visiting professionals and students use a business or institution-issued device at their service. For example, a sign-in process to record when an external device is being used.
• If a visiting professional doesn’t have a business-issued device, and needs a device to deliver their program (for example, a music program), they can:
  • ask to use a service-issued device
  • use an electronic device that cannot take or record images of children.
• Allied health and inclusion professionals and Preschool Field Officers (PSFOs) can use business or institution-issued devices that are only used for work purposes, not personal use.
• If a third-party professional brings a device issued by their business or institution, it’s recommended the device is clearly branded, for example, with a company logo on a custom case and/or lock screen.

• Services should have policies and procedures for using professional photographers.
• The policies must include obtaining authorisation from parents and guardians to take, use and store images and videos of children at the service.
• Professional photographers must use business-issued devices or devices only used for business.
• When hiring a professional photographer, services need to have procurement policies that ensure the safety of children and young people.

• The restrictions do not apply to third-party contractors who do not have direct contact with children, for example, maintenance people and gardeners who attend a service for a purpose other than to work with or provide education and care to, children.
• Services should inform them of the digital devices policies and procedures, as well as other child safe and supervision policies.
• Third party contractors should never take photos or videos of children at a service.

• There is no specific funding to support compliance with the Code. Eligible not-for-profit and government-funded kindergarten providers can apply for up to $2,000 through the Building Blocks grants program.
• The program supports the purchase of IT equipment for administration or learning programs. Items funded include laptops and tablet computers such as iPads.
• The purchase of mobile phones is not included in the Building Blocks grants program.