Yaga Smart WHS

Pleased to share that Yaga Smart has joined NEST Network as its exclusive Expert Industry Partner for Work Health & Safety, Safeguarding and Educator Wellbeing.

It is exciting to be part of NEST and to contribute as the network continues to grow.

Welcome to the NEST Family, Yaga Smart!

We're thrilled to welcome Yaga Smart as NEST's Expert Industry Partner for Work Health & Safety, Safeguarding & Educator Wellbeing. 💙

Yaga Smart brings a wealth of knowledge and practical experience to the early childhood sector, supporting services to build safer workplaces, strengthen safeguarding practices and promote educator wellbeing.

As part of the NEST community, members will have access to expert insights, practical resources and professional guidance from Yaga Smart, helping services navigate these critical areas with confidence.

One of the things that makes NEST unique is our commitment to bringing together trusted experts from across Australia, giving Education and Care Services direct access to specialist knowledge, support and collaboration....all in one place.

Please join us in giving Olga and Yaga Smart a very warm NEST welcome! 👏

We're excited to have you on board and can't wait to see the value you'll bring to our members.

Welcome to NEST! 💙🪺

New ACECQA resource: What adequate supervision looks like in practice

www.acecqa.gov.au

A major shift in work health and safety: psychosocial hazards are now front and centre across Australia.

Work health and safety clearly includes risks such as:

* excessive workload
* chronic understaffing
* bullying and workplace conflict
* inadequate leadership support
* exposure to aggression or distressing events
* unclear roles and poorly managed change

What does this mean for early childhood services?

Psychosocial hazards may arise from:

* ongoing staffing shortages
* missed breaks and fatigue
* sustained emotional demands
* difficult interactions with families
* fear of making mistakes
* inadequate support from leadership
* exposure to traumatic or distressing incidents

These risks should not be normalised as simply “part of the job”. They require a proper WHS response: identify the hazard, assess the risk, implement effective controls and review whether those controls are working.

All Australian jurisdictions place duties on employers to protect psychological health and manage work-related psychosocial risks. However, the specific legal framework differs.

The model WHS framework generally applies in:

NSW • QLD • SA • TAS • NT • ACT • WA • Commonwealth

These jurisdictions manage psychosocial hazards through WHS legislation, regulations, approved codes of practice and regulator guidance.

Victoria

Victoria does not operate under the model WHS Act. It has a separate occupational health and safety framework, but employers still have duties to provide and maintain a workplace that is safe and without risks to psychological health.

Different frameworks. The same responsibility

General information only. Requirements differ between jurisdictions and may change. Always check the relevant regulator and seek professional advice where appropriate.

NSW A&R is changing: inactive periods will be removed, and services will need stronger evidence of ongoing continuous improvement.

Big changes are coming to assessment and rating in New South Wales.

From 2026, enhancements to the assessment and rating process will place a stronger focus on continuous improvement, supporting services to demonstrate how they are progressing over time rather than relying solely on a snapshot in time.

The changes are expected to have significant implications for early childhood education and care providers, educational leaders and service teams across the state.

What could these reforms mean for your service's quality journey?

Read the full story:
https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0-Zrh0

Recognising patterns and trends is essential for quality improvement.

ACECQA’s 2026 Quality Area data snapshot shows a clear trend: the highest “Not Met” areas are connected to systems, supervision, critical reflection, health practices and educator capability.

This matters because quality improvement does not come from looking at one incident, one complaint or one observation in isolation.

It comes from asking: what is the bigger picture?

For QA2, services can start by asking :

• Where do incidents, near misses or complaints happen most often?

• Do they happen at the same time of day — transitions, toileting, mealtimes, sleep/rest or outdoor play?

• Were educators positioned where they could see and hear children?

• Are some areas harder to supervise than others?

• Do new, casual or relief educators clearly understand the supervision plan?

• Are educators adjusting supervision when the risk increases — for example during water play, climbing, excursions, sleep/rest or mixed-age play?

• When a hazard is identified, is it removed immediately, or does it keep appearing?

• After an incident or repeated concern, what actually changed in practice?

The next step is action.

Use the information to review your policies and practices. So the goal is to notice what keeps happening, understand why it is happening, and change practice before the same issue repeats.

Yaga Smart supports services and teams with practical training in active supervision, WHS risks, physical hazards, psychosocial risks and compliance systems.

For more information please DM.

Data source: ACECQA NQF Snapshot, Detailed Ratings, April 2026.

Congratulations to Gilda Skinner and the team at Chatswood Early Learning Centre – Magnolia Cottage on achieving Exceeding in all 7 Quality Areas.

A phenomenal result that reflects strong leadership and genuine commitment to quality.

Well deserved!!

Biological hazards in early childhood: do we need to change everything?

There has been some confusion since Safe Work Australia published the Model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work in March 2026.

The Code specifically mentions early childhood education and care, including examples of educators being exposed to biological hazards through body substances, contaminated surfaces and illness outbreaks.

So, does this mean services need to suddenly change everything?

Not necessarily.

Early childhood services already have infection prevention and control guidance through Staying Healthy: Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and care services, service policies, WHS obligations, the Education and Care Services National Regulations, and public health advice.

The new Code does not replace ECEC-specific infection-control guidance.

What it does is make the WHS lens clearer.

This includes hygiene practices, illness exclusion, nappy changing, cleaning, PPE, outbreak management, staff induction and ongoing training.

So, no — this is not a reason to panic.

But it is a useful opportunity to refresh your knowledge, review your current controls, and check whether your policies, procedures and daily practices are still clear, current and actually followed on the floor.

A disclosure has been made. What happens next?

Ongoing Child Safe training and education gives staff and volunteers the confidence to identify, respond to and report child abuse.
Make sure you know what to do if there is a disclosure.
Download our guide on child safe reporting obligations and processes:https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-07/g_css_reportingobligationsresource.pdf

How can standards keep rising while the system supporting them remains stretched?

That is the question at the heart of The Paramount Paradox, a timely look at one of the biggest tensions facing Australia’s early childhood education and care sector.

Services are being asked to deliver more: stronger child safety systems, higher compliance expectations, workforce capability, documentation, governance and quality improvement.

Yet many are doing it while managing staff shortages, rising costs, limited time and growing pressure.

This article explores whether Australia can continue lifting expectations without equally lifting investment, support and sustainable reform.

A must-read for providers, leaders, educators and anyone serious about the future of ECEC.

Read the full article via The Sector:
https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0P6M80