QR Code Exemption Formally Requested

Further to the clarification provided in relation to the NSW Government's announcement of mandatory use of QR codes beginning 12 July 2021, the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW has formally submitted its application for all NSW-based early childhood education and care (ECEC) services to be exempted.

ACA NSW has highlighted to the NSW Minister for Health (the Hon Brad Hazzard MP) and the NSW Chief Health Officer (Dr Kerry Chant) that exemptions already exist for ECEC services in the following current Public Health Orders:

• Public Health (COVID-19 Gathering Restrictions) Order (No 2) 2021 – See Schedule 2 Exempted Gatherings’ Item 11; and
• Public Health (COVID-19 Temporary Movement and Gathering Restrictions) Order 2021 – See Schedule 2 Exempted Gatherings’ Item 11.

We believe the above and past exemptions to date are broadly because all ECEC services already have pre-existing and well-established infectious diseases policies, procedures and protocols, as well as comprehensive record-keeping systems that would immediately satisfy NSW Health. Such capabilities are the result of pre-existing Federal and NSW legislation and regulations for up to the last 10 years, in particular:

• Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011’s Regulation 168(2)(c) Infectious Diseases – policy and procedures
• Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011’s Regulation 168(2)(f) Delivery of Children to, and collection of children from, ECEC services – policy and procedures
• Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011’s Regulation 168(2)(h) Providing a child safe environment (including the recording of all visitors to the service) – policy and procedures
• Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Jobs for Families Child Care Package) Act 2017’s requirement to record the discrete periods of attendances of every child under the responsibilities of ECEC services for the purposes of receiving Child Care Subsidies

In combination, these reaffirm all ECEC services’ current abilities to provide NSW Health with all relevant and necessary records and information upon request in relation to any public health incident. Moreover, it is our understanding that the relative ease and seamlessness of providing such records and information from the very few COVID-19 affected services to date to NSW Health reconfirm all ECEC services’ capabilities as outlined above.

The inclusion of yet another layer of registration of attendances and departures of parents, guardians, visitors, contractors and parents would create an additional operational burden without any demonstration of additional public health benefits.

The irony is where the public health objective of separating people will be undermined by parents, guardians, visitors and contractors gathering around QR codes which can create new and unnecessary risks given the airborne and highly infectious Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus.

As for those ECEC services located outside of the prescribed Greater Sydney region, and when the Greater Sydney lockdown is no longer needed, these QR codes will impose a process of double-entry of data recording, and can introduce unnecessary additional time delays more importantly unnecessary public health risks by way of gatherings while interacting with QR codes.

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

PUBLISHED: 6 JULY 2021