What Sessional Kindergarten Educators Need to Know About the Upcoming Child Safety Changes…And Why Our Voices Matter
On 26 September 2025, a set of new child safety rules will come into effect across Victoria. If you’re working in a sessional kindergarten, you’ve probably already heard bits and pieces, something about device bans, image policies, maybe even talk of inspections and a new regulator. And while yes, there are some practical steps we all need to take right now, I also think this is a moment for us to ask bigger questions. About safety, yes. But also about respect, trust, and working conditions in early childhood education.
So let’s unpack what’s changing, what you should do next, and why I believe this moment calls for solidarity, not silence.
Why These Changes Are Happening
In July 2025, the Victorian Government commissioned the Rapid Child Safety Review in response to serious allegations of child sexual abuse in a number of early childhood settings. The review made 22 recommendations, and the government accepted every single one. Some of these changes are already underway, others begin on 26 September, and many directly affect how we do our everyday work as educators.
At the heart of the changes is one clear message: we must do better to keep children safe. I don’t think anyone in our profession would argue with that. But here’s the thing: the solution can’t just be more rules, more surveillance, or blanket bans that don’t acknowledge the real conditions we work under.
What’s Changing From 26 September
No More Personal Devices
From the end of this month, educators will no longer be allowed to use personal devices (like smartphones or smartwatches) while working directly with children. This applies to taking photos, videos, or even just having the device on you during care. Instead, services are expected to provide approved, service-issued devices for documentation and communication.
Let’s be real, most of us aren’t sneaking selfies. We use devices to document learning, communicate with families, manage emergency plans, or even check the time. But under the new rules, if your smartwatch can take a photo or receive messages, it can’t be worn during your shift with children. There are some exceptions, but they need to be written into your service’s policies and procedures, and approved at the provider level.
What you should do now: Ask your leadership what device policy they’ll be enforcing. Clarify how documentation will be managed. Make sure exceptions (e.g. for health needs or emergencies) are formally acknowledged.
Image & Video Use
The new National Model Code for taking images and videos of children is now policy in Victoria. It requires:
Only approved devices can be used.
There must be clear procedures for storage, access and deletion of photos and videos.
Educators must follow strict consent and privacy guidelines.
Again, most of us are already doing this thoughtfully and ethically, but the policy now requires it in writing, with oversight.
What you should do now: Review your service’s media and documentation policy. If you’re not sure whether your tools or practices comply, speak up, it’s better to ask now than face issues later.
What Else Is Coming
This is just the first wave. Over the next 12–18 months, expect:
A new, independent early childhood regulator, replacing Victoria’s Quality Assessment and Regulation Division (QARD) of our Department of Education
Mandatory child safety training for all educators.
Tighter rules around reportable conduct and working with children checks.
More frequent inspections with stronger enforcement powers.
The direction is clear: more compliance, more documentation, more oversight.
And while safety is non-negotiable, the question becomes: at what cost?
What’s Missing From This Conversation?
Here’s what’s bothering the team at VSKEA… only Educators seem to be talking about the root issues that impact child safety and educator wellbeing, which in great part enabled the terrible situation that has unfolded in Victorian daycares. The conditions that allowed abuse to happen in Victorian early childhood settings didn’t appear overnight, they were shaped by a system that’s chronically under-resourced, inconsistently led, and dismissive of frontline insight.
Where is the urgent action that will create real change:
Unsafe ratios that don’t put child safety at the forefront of our industry.
Inconsistent leadership across sessional services, with varying expectations and oversight
Lack of planning time to critically reflect, assess risk, and document learning meaningfully, this rings especially true for cert 3 and Diploma qualified co-educators
Minimal admin support, with most standalone services having no off the floor staff member consistently working, forcing educators to juggle compliance, care, and paperwork.
We all want to protect children, but banning smartwatches isn’t a solution to systemic under-resourcing. The banning of personal devices such as phones I understand, but the sweeping nature of these reforms to include smart watches make it feel as though these changes are aimed at us, not with us. They imply mistrust, as if educators are the risk, not the front line of protection. That’s why we believe the most powerful response to these reforms isn’t silence, it’s solidarity.
So What Do We Do Next?
1. Know the Rules - But Don’t Be Silenced!
You should absolutely know what the rules say. Understand your service’s updated policies, attend the training, ask the hard questions. But don’t just accept new rules as “done deals.” Push for policies that actually support safe, high-quality education, not just policies that tick compliance boxes.
2. Talk to Your Colleagues
Whether you're on a fixed-term contract, casually employed, or job-sharing, talk with others. Chances are they’re feeling just as overwhelmed or confused. This is a time to build community, not stay in your lane.
Start conversations like:
“Has our service issued a device policy?”
“Do we know who’s responsible for image storage?”
“What’s our process for raising concerns?”
3. Get Organised and Join Your Union
These reforms aren’t just a technical update, they are a political moment. And we need to respond politically.
VSKEA was founded to represent the unique needs of sessional kindergarten educators, but we also know that real change happens when we’re part of a larger collective. If you’re not already a union member, now is the time.
We need to advocate for:
Funding for service-issued tech
Common-sense device exemptions for health/emergency
Real solutions to safety risks, not cosmetic policies
Respectful implementation that centres educators’ expertise
The Australian Education Union (AEU) is already raising concerns about workload, regulation creep, and lack of support for implementation. Let’s amplify that work. Let’s stand together.
Final Thoughts
If these reforms are meant to protect children, they must also protect educators, because we are the people children depend on every single day. So let’s be proactive, not panicked. Let’s be informed, not overwhelmed. And above all, let’s be loud, not just about the rules, but about the conditions that shape how we work and how we care.
If you want to connect, ask questions, or share how your service is approaching the changes, get in touch. VSKEA is here for you, and together, we are more than just compliant.
We are capable.
We are caring.
We are critical to the future of education in Victoria.
In solidarity,
Tammy Lawlor
Founder, VSKEA
vskea.org | @vskea_org