Education and Care Services National Law Application Bill 2025
Receipt and first reading
Hon Samantha Rowe (Parliamentary Secretary) Bill received from the Assembly and, on motion by on behalf of Hon Stephen Dawson (Leader of the House), read a first time.
Second reading speech
Hon Samantha Rowe (Parliamentary Secretary) (7:22 pm): I move:
That the bill be now read a second time.
Quality early childhood education and care plays a vital role in supporting the learning and development of Australian children in their early years and helps build the foundation for better health, education and employment outcomes in later life. It plays a vital role for families by supporting their participation in the labour market as well as in training opportunities, access to study, volunteering time to the community and managing personal and family circumstances when they arise.
In 2009, all states and territories agreed to develop a national quality framework, known as the NQF, to ensure a largely uniform approach to the regulation of early childhood education and care services. The NQF consists of the Education and Care Services National Law and the Education and Care Services National Regulations and the National Quality Standard. All jurisdictions apply the Education and Care Services National Law, enacted by the Victorian Parliament and adopted by participating jurisdictions.
Western Australia has been adopting the national law through the enactment of corresponding legislation to maintain national consistency of the NQF, which means it is implemented later than in other jurisdictions. In this context, the Education and Care Services National Law Application Bill 2025 will apply the Education and Care Services National Law as a law of Western Australia and repeal WA's current corresponding Education and Care Services National Law (WA) Act 2012 and regulations made under that act. Applying the national law in this way will support ongoing improvement in the sector by continuing the operation in WA of the NQF in a way that is more nationally consistent and supports more timely application of future amendments.
The legislation that will be made by this bill was originally included in the Education and Care Services National Law Application Bill 2024, introduced into Parliament on 20 June 2024, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Uniform Legislation and Statutes Review. On 15 October 2024, the committee tabled its 148th report, which made one recommendation. The debate on the 2024 bill did not resume and the bill lapsed on 17 December last year with the proroguing of the Legislative Council. This bill is essentially the same as the 2024 bill.
I will now expand upon the key aspects of this bill. Part 2 of the bill includes an applied law mechanism. This will provide for the application of amendments to the national law and national regulations in WA. The applied law mechanism to apply the national law will preserve the sovereignty of the Western Australian Parliament and is consistent with the recommendations of the Legislative Council Standing Committee on Uniform Legislation and Statutes Review for other national schemes operating in WA such as the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2022 and the Fair Trading Amendment Act 2022. The sovereignty of the WA Parliament will be maintained as the bill provides for the tabling of amendments to the national law and national regulations and for either house of Parliament to disallow those amendments following consideration by the Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation.
The bill will apply the national law, with modifications, as a law of WA as it is in force on 30 April 2025. This will bring WA into alignment with the other jurisdictions. The bill provides for an amending act, being a Victorian act that subsequently amends the national law, to be laid before each house of Parliament within 18 sitting days after the day on which the amending act receives royal assent in Victoria. An amending act will not become a law in WA until there is consideration by Parliament and, if necessary, the amending act is disallowed.
The bill also deals with the application of the national regulations and will apply them, with modifications, as they are in force on commencement day. As with an amending act, the bill provides a mechanism for the tabling and disallowance of amending regulations.
Moving from a corresponding to an applied law mechanism means that amendments to the national law in Victorian acts prior to 30 April 2025 will apply in WA. These acts are the Victorian Regulatory Legislation Amendment (Reform) Act 2022, Early Childhood Legislation Amendment Act 2022 and Early Childhood Legislation Amendment (Premises Approval in Principle) Act 2023.
Repositioning WA to an applied law framework will reduce the delay between the time that any future amendments to the early childhood education and care services national legislation applies in all other jurisdictions and when those amendments will apply in WA, ensuring the ongoing safety, health and wellbeing of children in early childhood education and care settings. The bill will be reviewed as soon as practical after five years.
Part 3 of the bill will modify the national law as it is to apply in Western Australia to preserve the important and established WA-specific differences in the NQF legislation. The NQF is largely uniform while still recognising individual jurisdictional differences and the need for local provisions tailored to suit the individual circumstances of one or several jurisdictions, with every effort made to minimise these incidents. Many of the modifications in part 3 replicate current provisions in WA's corresponding legislation, which is subject to parliamentary scrutiny that is sought to be retained.
Uniquely, the bill provides a mechanism to address circumstances when a provision of the amending act effects a modification to the national law contained in part 3. If this causes a modification to the national law not to have effect, a regulation may be made as a temporary measure to ensure the modifications to the national law and part 3 continue to apply. Any such regulation would be for no longer than 12 months after it commenced so an amendment bill could be drafted and introduced for consideration by the WA Parliament.
Part 4 of the bill will provide for the making of regulations by the Governor for matters required or convenient for giving effect to the bill. This includes modifying the national regulations for the purpose of applying them in WA. The current WA regulations include provisions that are unique to WA and therefore not included in the national regulations, such as our swimming pool regulations, which are specific to family day care services and provide a safer environment for WA children. Modifications will be made to preserve WA's important and established differences from the national regulations.
Part 5 of the bill will repeal the Education and Care Services National Law (WA) Act 2012 and subsidiary legislation. It sets out transitional provisions to facilitate the change from the corresponding WA legislation, the Education and Care Services National Law (WA) Act 2012 and its subsidiary legislation to the Education and Care Services National Law application legislation, and to preserve existing rights and obligations, and administrative processes and proceedings under the new law.
The national law that will be applied by the bill incorporates amendments approved by the national education ministers and made to the national law but not yet to the WA law, following the review of the National Quality Framework that commenced in 2019. This bill gives effect to the shared commitment and the continued and enhanced operation of the National Quality Framework—that is, a commitment to ensuring that children, families and the early childhood education and care sector workers who support them continue to benefit from this important national framework.
Pursuant to standing order 126(1), I advise that the bill is a uniform legislation bill. It is a bill that by reason of its subject matter is part of a uniform scheme or uniform laws throughout the Commonwealth.
I commend the bill to the house and table the explanatory memorandum.
(See paper 448.)
Debate adjourned and bill referred to the Standing Committee on Uniform Legislation and Statutes Review, pursuant to standing orders.
