FAQ’s for education and care services

For information about COVID-19 transmission, symptoms, testing and isolation requirements and COVID-19 testing clinic locations please visit:

ACT Government’s COVID-19 website

Yes, anyone who tests positive to COVID-19 will need to isolate for 7 days. Families and staff will be required to report any positive cases to the education and care setting, who must undertake a risk assessment to determine if anyone has potentially been exposed. Providers must inform families (23kb) and staff if they are notified that a positive case has attended the education and care service. For more information, please visit Current restrictions - COVID-19 .

Educators should discuss this matter directly with their employer or contact the Australian Government for assistance.

For more details refer to Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment information at: Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment - Services Australia .

Household contacts must notify their employer and/or educational facility (including education and care services) that they are a household contact. The provider must determine their own policy on whether asymptomatic household contacts can attend the setting.

In considering whether a household contact can work or attend the education and care service during the quarantine period, providers will need to assess any potential risks and any other relevant guidelines and policies in place.

Providers and service leaders must continue to take every reasonable precaution to prevent the spread of COVID-19. If household contacts are permitted to attend the education and care service, the provider must include risk mitigation strategies in their COVID-19 risk management plan which are available on ACT Health Risk mitigation requirements for household contacts - COVID-19 .

These risk mitigation requirements include:

• Undertaking a COVID-19 test in the 24 hours prior to returning to work or education and care and then every 48 hours if ongoing attendance is required.

• If a positive result is returned, the person must immediately comply with requirements for people who test positive for COVID-19 .

Please refer to the ACT COVID-19 website for full details.

Providers should continue to review, update, and implement COVID-19 plans, policies, and procedures within their education and care services. This includes decisions about how the provider will manage asymptomatic household contacts.

For more information for individuals exposed to COVID-19 visit: Information for people exposed to COVID-19 - COVID-19 .

All providers and service leaders must follow the standard notification procedures as required under the Education and Care Services National Law under section 175.

Providers are now only required to notify Children’s Education and Care Assurance (CECA) of a positive COVID-19 case via NQAITS if:

• a child requires urgent medical attention or is hospitalised under regulation 176(2)(a)(ii) within 24 hours; or
• where the operation of the education and care service is restricted (for example a room closure due to staff absences) under regulation 175(2)(b) within 7 days.

For more information about making a notification please refer to NQAITS Portal Emergency Management Help Guide .

For more information about managing a confirmed case of COVID-19 in an education and care service visit: Managing a confirmed case of COVID-19 in education and care services.

Education and care services are no longer required to distribute the previously provided COVID-19 exposure letter templates to staff, and families. However, as with any infectious disease, providers and service leaders must continue to communicate about potential COVID-19 exposures to their community.

An updated optional letter template is available on the Education Directorate website for providers and service leaders use at Optional template letter - confirmed COVID-19 case (23kb). Please do not use old templates for communicating with your community, the content of these old templates may not reflect current health advice.

For more information about managing a confirmed case of COVID-19 in an education and care service visit: Managing a confirmed case of COVID-19 in education and care services.

Providers can refuse attendance in accordance with their policies and procedures.

Household contacts who have COVID-19 symptoms must not attend the service – they should be directed to follow the Risk mitigation requirements for household contacts - COVID-19 .

Please see question above for more detail: Can children and staff members attend the education and care service if they are household contacts?

Providers and service leaders should seek clarification and advice about how CCS entitlements with the Department of Education, Skills and Employment before implementing this policy position.

For more information contact: https://www.dese.gov.au/early-childhood .

Child Care Subsidy Helpdesk for providers and services
Call 1300 667 276
Email: ccshelpdesk@dese.gov.au

Under regulation 172 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations, providers are required to notify parents at least 14 days before making any change to a policy or procedure as referred under regulation 168 or 169.

Providers, service leaders and educators should actively share COVID safe policies, procedures and plans to demonstrate risk mitigation strategies with families.

Sharing information about the use of hand and respiratory hygiene, good ventilation, regular environmental cleaning, social distancing, age-appropriate mask-wearing, COVID-19 educator vaccinations and the implementation of COVID safe policies, procedures and plans will help families understand what provisions are in place to help protect children and adults when attending education and care services.

Educators, staff and visitors are no longer required to wear face masks under ACT Health Directions unless they are household contacts who are following the risk mitigation requirements for household contacts.

However, the Canberra community is strongly encouraged to continue to wear a face mask when entering public indoor settings, or where it could be difficult to maintain physical distancing. Providers may wish to retain this requirement in their COVID-19 plans, policies, and procedures.

For more information about the use of face masks visit: Face masks - COVID-19 .

Information about testing children for COVID-19 using RATs can be found at About COVID-19 testing and Factsheet parents and kids Rat test .

No. If an educator or child have symptoms of COVID-19, they should be removed from that setting and not return until they have a negative test result (either RAT or PCR) AND they no longer have COVID-19 symptoms.

RATs are available to children who attend ACT school settings however, this doesn’t include children attending education and care services.

Education and care services should hold a small stock of RATs and provide them to staff on an as needed basis, or in response to increased cases at the service.

Reconciliation of existing RAT supplies should be finalised by providers and/or service leaders. There are a limited number of RATs available, so it is important that an inventory continues to be maintained securely and is auditable.

At the end of each week each provider must report how many staff were supplied with RATs, using the form provided.

Family day care are considered as an education and care setting.

However, if a household contact of the family day care educator tests positive then the educator will be required to follow the ACT Health directions for household contacts. This includes testing and mask wearing indoors.

Family day care educators are required to report any positive cases to their provider and to families whose child may have been exposed. A risk assessment will need to be conducted to determine if anyone at the family day care setting has potentially been exposed.

The (Public Health (ACT School or Early Childhood Education and Care Workers COVID-19 Vaccination) Emergency Direction 2021) ended on 13 May 2022. This means COVID-19 vaccination is no longer mandated for education and care staff.

However, staff will need to follow their providers’ COVID-19 vaccination related policies, procedures, and risk management strategies.

To learn more about COVID-19 vaccinations, including safety, effectiveness, vaccination appointments, vaccine choice, vaccination FAQs visit Frequently asked questions - COVID-19 .

The Australian Government Department of Health's website has information on COVID-19 vaccines translated into multiple languages. For more information visit COVID-19 vaccine information in your language .

Proof of COVID-19 vaccinations can be obtained through your Medicare online account through myGov or the Express Plus Medicare mobile app . If you do not have a myGov account visit How to get proof and find the best way to get proof for your situation.

All settings where there has been a COVID-19 exposure must complete cleaning in line with the Infection Control Expert Group (ICEG) COVID cleaning and disinfection guidelines for schools and implement their COVID safe policies and procedures.

There are many relatively simple measures that can be taken to minimise COVID-19 spread in education and care settings. These include educators wearing masks indoors, spending as much time as possible outdoors, ensuring indoor areas are well ventilated, minimising contact between adults in settings and implementing effective hygiene measures.

As always, it is important that children and staff who are unwell with even mild symptoms stay at home and get tested for COVID-19. Vaccinating adults and children 5 years of age and older will protect people from severe disease and decrease spread to younger children.

For further information refer to COVID-19 and children: Frequently asked questions | NCIRS .