Disability & Paramountcy: Requirements of early childhood education and care services

Members would have received communications from the Federal Department of Education and ACECQA about the updated Disability Standards for Education 2025 (in relation to the Disability Discrimination law) that are in effect from 1 August 2026.

While technically early childhood education and care services was always obliged to follow the Disability Discrimination Act, both the Federal Department of Education and ACECQA are highlighting our inclusion.

And it is important to note that the regulator for this law and how such Disability Standards for Education are implemented is the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Thanks to members' input, ACA National's submission about the then proposed changes to the Disability Standards was submitted in February 2025.

As the National Quality Framework was implemented since January 2012, all early childhood education and care services would already have policies, procedures, practices and more for all children, including through the lens of Quality Area 2 - Children's Health and Safety.

That said, members and the sector would also be aware of the challenges facing them due to:

• the limitations of the Inclusion Support Program; and

• the rigidity of the worker retention payments and its capping of fees to parents.

And since 24 April 2026, “the safety, rights and best interests of children must be the paramount consideration in every decision and action across early childhood education and care” became a legal requirement on all Approved Providers and services.

Hence, ACA NSW has written to the NSW Early Learning Commission (NELC) requesting that they publish clear guidance on how paramountcy must be implemented in light of these expectations of supporting children with any and all disabilities.

Without clarity from the NELC, ACA NSW is concerned that services may turn away children from or reject their enrolments for their offerings of early childhood education and care for fear of not being able to fulfil the paramountcy expectations of the Authorised Officers of the NSW Early Learning Commission. In other words, NSW-based early childhood education and care might take the path of least or zero risk in order to care for the greatest possible number of children by avoiding the compliance risks or worse arising from some children.

For any further information/clarification, members can contact the ACA NSW team via 1300 556 330 or nsw@childcarealliance.org.au.

PUBLISHED: 11 AUGUST 2026