In supporting services' respective Emergency and Evacuations Policy as required under Regulation 168, services will also need to develop its own Emergency Management Plan.

In light of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW (with the assistance of its interstate peers) has assembled an Emergency Management Plan 2019/2020 template that includes updated tools to address infectious diseases.

ACA NSW members can download it here. Please note that this is only a template and must be customised to suit your service's unique requirements and needs.

ACA NSW members may also wish to familiarise itself with:

• ACA NSW's Novel Coronavirus Watch which contains arguably the largest and most up-to-date list of government and non-government information, plus early childhood education and care-related tools and other resources; and
• ACA NSW's most recent "Novel Coronavirus: (Virtually) Everything you need to know" webinars and presentation slides.

If ACA NSW can be of any further assistance, please contact us on 1300 556 330 or nsw@childcarealliance.org.au.

PUBLISHED: 20 MARCH 2020
UPDATED: 23 MARCH 2020

ACA has produced a number of documents for member use. You may wish to use these documents to review your existing emergency action plan.

1. COVID-19 Pandemic Action Plan 2020 for Early Learning Services (799 KB)
   
   
2. Template service provider Emergency Management Plan (249 KB)
   
   
3. Sample service provider Emergency Management Plan  (1.73 MB)

To address the Novel Coronavirus pandemic, and in addition to all the information, tools and resources provided via our Novel Coronavirus Watch webpage, the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW has organised a series of live town hall-style webinars for members and non-members to enable them to receive and discuss the latest information, issues and solutions to the challenges.

The following are the dates and times for these live webinars conducted by ACA NSW (that are free for ACA NSW members and $40 inc GST for non-members):

• 11 March 2020 @ 6.30 pm (100 pax) - SOLD OUT
• 13 March 2020 @ 9 am (100 pax) - SOLD OUT
• 17 March 2020 @ 6.30 pm (100 pax) - SOLD OUT
• 20 March 2020 @ 10 am (100 pax) - SOLD OUT
• 26 March 2020 @ 7 pm (100 pax) - Register Here
• 27 March 2020 @ 10 am (100 pax) - Register Here

ACA NSW members can immediately access for free the most recent version of the "Coronavirus - (Virtually) Everything you need to know" webinar via logging-in to the ACA NSW website. Notwithstanding, ACA NSW members can still register above to receive the latest information via the above list of live webinars.

For those who are not ACA NSW members and also need immediate access, our most recent webinar-on-demand (20 March 2020) is also available (via here) at a cost of AUD$61.48 inc GST for a 30-day rental.

ACA NSW members and non-members can also attend any of 29x ACA NSW Network Meetings where the latest information about the Novel Coronavirus will also be presented and discussed.

And although best endeavours have been made to ensure the latest and correct information are shared, ACA NSW does not assume any responsibility for any of its contents being overtaken by new information and events.

PUBLISHED: 4 MARCH 2020
UPDATED: 20 MARCH 2020

There has been much conjecture about the use of the Fair Work Act's "stand down" provisions (Section 524) in the event that the NSW Department of Health were to temporarily close an early childhood education and care service in relation to the Novel Coronavirus.

As written (of which the following are an extract):

Section 524 - Employer may stand down employees in certain circumstances

(1) An employer may, under this subsection, stand down an employee during a period in which the employee cannot usefully be employed because of one of the following circumstances:

(c) a stoppage of work for any cause for which the employer cannot reasonably be held responsible.

(2) However, an employer may not stand down an employee under subsection (1) during a period in which the employee cannot usefully be employed because of a circumstance referred to in that subsection if:

(b) the agreement or contract provides for the employer to stand down the employee during that period if the employee cannot usefully be employed during that period because of that circumstance.

(3) If an employer stands down an employee during a period under subsection (1), the employer is not required to make payments to the employee for that period.

According to legal advice received by the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW on 12 March 2020:

• If a service is instructed to temporarily close by the Public Health Unit in relation to the Novel Coronavirus, the employer can use Section 524 of the Fair Work Act to stand down staff and not pay staff.
• Fair Work Act’s stand down provisions apply to all employees regardless of whether they are under a Modern Award or not.

But, is using Section 524 of the Fair Work Act to pay your staff when your service is temporarily closed the right decision? Consider the following:

• To satisfy s524(1)(c)'s "... for which the employer cannot be reasonably be held responsible", is it possible for one or more of your the staff to be able to prove that their employer was in part responsible for the Novel Coronavirus impacting on the service due to the employer's negligence or human error?
• To satisfy s524(2)(b)'s "... during a period in which the employee cannot usefully be employed", did the employer ensure that each and every staff member could not have done any other work as outlined in their position descriptions and employment contracts except that such work would now be done outside of the service?
• By not paying your staff for a period, could your staff (mis-)interpret it as their employer abandoning them at their time of need for employment?

While financial viability and business continuity would be understandably front of mind for employers, employers must also consider whether their actions might attract potential staff applications to the Fair Work Ombudsman and/or negative public relations, and other unintended consequences.

Therefore, due to each early childhood education and care service being potentially different to another, ACA NSW strongly recommends that employers seek their own legal advice and carefully consider the merits of using Section 524 of the Fair Work Act.

PUBLISHED: 13 MARCH 2020

First Steps Early Learning Centre is a 90 place service founded in 2006.  It is located in the beautiful Northern Rivers of New South Wales, in the city of Lismore.  The service backs onto the Wilsons River in the city’s CBD precinct.  The building is surrounded by parks, walking tracks, and local landmarks including local indigenous artwork, gardens and yarns of country.  First Steps Early Learning Centre embraces these elements of our community to embed a natural and cultural vibe.

After rebuilding from the ground up in the wake of a massive flood in 2017, the service’s spirited was renewed through new growth, and a true dedication and passion was cultivated to construct what has become a centre that truly deserves its rating of Exceeding the National Standards.

Our service is made up of 5 rooms, from junior nursery to preschool and we are so very proud of the experience that our collection of educators has brought over the 14 years of our operation.  One of our educators has been with us since the beginning, a few with over 10 years service and many others gathering between 5-10 years of experience at First Steps.  This is a reflection of the nurturing environment and connection educators and management feel to each other, the children and families.

At First Steps, high expectations have set the standard in relation to curriculum development, educational leadership, consistent routines, developing secure attachments with children and families and also critically reflecting on how we can best service our local community.

Lastly and with most importance is the warm, genuine and compassionate care that is delivered to each and every child, who educators respect as the driving force of why they love working in our first steps community.  All educators understand their crucial role in developing meaningful relationships with children, and building positive partnerships with families and the wider community.  This forms the foundation for well balanced, socially confident learners who seek to navigate success on their individual journeys.