Have Your Say: NSW's Proposed Free Health & Development Checks for Preschool Children

October 6th, 2022 Latest News

ACA NSW warmly welcomes the NSW Government's latest proposal to create and fund free health and development checks for preschool children.


As outlined in the NSW Department of Education's Brighter Beginnings: Health and Development Checks in ECE presentation on 21 September 2022, the phases planned are as follows:


  • May-June 2022 - Announcement
  • July-September 2022 - Consultations
  • September-October 2022 - Recruit Early Adopters
  • November 2022 - January 2023 - Pilot
  • March-April 2023 - Roll-Out Phase 1
  • 2024 - State-wide Rollout

The NSW Department of Education and NSW Health are seeking input on their key question - Please describe the health and development checks delivered in a few sentences. Members can contribute via their survey online.



Early childhood education and care services would already be aware of the Commonwealth Government's Starting Blocks website which is a key resource on what are children's developmental milestones from birth to 5 years old. This website cites the early years being critical for establishing young children's:


  • physical health
  • social skills
  • emotional health
  • cognitive capacity
  • language skill


It is also worth noting that the National Regulation 74 in the context of delivering their educational program already requires Approved Providers to document:


  1. for a child preschool age or under—
    •  assessments of the child’s developmental needs, interests, experiences and participation in the educational program; and
    • assessments of the child’s progress against the outcomes of the educational program; and
  2. for a child over preschool age, evaluations of the child’s wellbeing, development and learning.

Harmonisation of existing regulatory requirements and proposed activities will hopefully and efficiently see the best outcomes for children before they begin school.


Members can contact the ACA NSW team via 1300 556 330 or nsw@childcarealliance.org.au for any further information/clarification. Members can also contact the NSW Department of Education's Early Childhood Directorate via 1800 619 113.


PUBLISHED: 6 OCTOBER 2022


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