Keeping Children Safe, Together

What the New National Child Safety Training Means for Our Sanctuary Community

Keeping children safe isn't just something we think about — it's woven into everything we do. From the way we design our spaces to the way we welcome families through our doors each morning, the safety and wellbeing of your child is at the heart of every decision we make. So when the Australian Government introduced mandatory national child safety training for the Early Childhood Education and Care sector, we welcomed it wholeheartedly.

A national step forward

From 27 February 2026, every person working in an early learning service across Australia will be required to complete mandatory child safety training, developed by the Australian Government in partnership with the Queensland Government and the Australian Centre for Child Protection.

This training will be available free of charge through Geccko — the Department of Education's online learning platform for the ECEC sector — and applies to everyone in our teams, including:

• Persons with management or control
• Nominated Supervisors and persons in day-to-day charge
• Family Day Care Educators
• All staff, volunteers and students.

Each team member will create their own individual Geccko account, so training can be accurately tracked and recorded.

What the training covers

The training rolls out in two stages:

• Foundation Training — available from 27 February 2026
• Advanced Modules — available from July 2026.

It's been designed to deepen every educator's understanding of child safety, safeguarding responsibilities, professional boundaries, reporting processes, and what it means to build a truly child-safe culture — the kind of culture our teams already work hard at nurturing every day.

What we're doing behind the scenes

At Sanctuary, learning and growing together is already part of who we are. Our Head Office team is making sure the transition to this training is smooth and well-supported.

Right now, we're:

• Setting up Geccko accounts for every educator and staff member
• Supporting teams through their initial logins
• Planning structured time for training completion
• Tracking progress across all of our centres.
  

What this means for your child - and for you

For your child, this reform means every adult in their learning environment will be equipped with consistent, nationally recognised knowledge about keeping children safe. It means stronger safeguarding practices, clearer accountability, and the confidence that comes from knowing everyone around your child understands their responsibilities.

For your family, it's an added layer of assurance. Child safety practices across the country are being aligned and monitored to a higher standard — and at Sanctuary, we've always believed that's exactly how it should be.

Our Promise

Child safety isn't a box to tick. It's a value we hold deeply, and a responsibility we take seriously every single day.

We're proud to be part of a sector that continues to raise the bar — and we're proud of our teams, who bring genuine care and professionalism to this work every time they walk through the door.

If you'd like to know more about the training or how it supports your child's experience with us, please reach out to your Centre Director. We're always happy to talk.

Thank you, as always, for trusting us with what matters most to you.