The next stage of Australia’s mandatory child safety reforms has landed. Advanced child safety training is now fully available, and if you run a service or hold a leadership role in one, there is a firm deadline you need to know. Here is what the advanced training is, exactly who has to complete which parts, when it must be done by, and where to do it.
What is advanced child safety training?
Advanced child safety training is the next level up from the foundation training that has been running since February 2026. It is a legal requirement under section 162B of the National Law, and it is free, delivered through Geccko, the Australian Government’s online learning platform for the sector. Where foundation training applies to almost everyone, the advanced training is targeted at the people with the greatest responsibility for keeping children safe: staff who work directly with children, and those in leadership and management roles.
The three advanced courses
The advanced package is made up of three courses. Course 3, Creating child safe cultures through everyday practice, and Course 4, Responding to safeguarding concerns, have both been available since 31 July 2026. Course 5, Leading and governing child safety, is available from 30 September 2026. With Course 5 now released, the full package is complete, which is why this is the moment it all becomes real for providers.
Who needs to complete which courses?
Not everyone does the same courses. It depends on your role. Staff members who work directly with children must complete courses 3 and 4. Nominated supervisors must complete courses 3, 4 and 5. Persons in day to day charge must also complete courses 3, 4 and 5. And persons with management or control must complete course 5 only. So the higher your responsibility, the more courses you do, with leaders and governance roles taking the Course 5 leadership module.
What are the deadlines?
Here is the date to mark. If you hold a relevant role before 30 September 2026, you must complete the advanced training required for your role by 31 March 2027. If you start in a relevant role on or after 30 September 2026, you have 3 months from your start date. And like the foundation training, advanced training is not a one off: refresher training must be completed every 2 years.
Where and how do you do the training?
It is in the same place as the foundation training: Geccko, the Australian Government’s online learning platform, and it is free. You already have a Geccko account from completing the foundation training, so there is nothing new to set up. Just log in, select national child safety training, and enrol in the advanced courses required for your role.
One warning worth repeating: Geccko is the only place it counts. Training bought from a private provider or any other platform does not meet the requirement, so do not pay a third party for it.
What approved providers need to do now
As the approved provider, this is on you, so do not leave it to chance. The people in your service will get busy and the deadline will creep up, so your job is to make sure it actually gets done. Remind them, and not just once. Set reminders, follow up, and keep following up until you have seen it completed. Build it into your service’s requirements the same way you treat first aid or a Working with Children Check, something that is simply not optional and gets checked.
A word of warning from what we are already hearing on the ground. Because the training renews every two years, some staff are saying they will just leave it until the last day of the deadline. This is a real risk. If several people all push it to the deadline and then someone gets sick, has a technical problem, or simply forgets, your service can tip into non-compliance in a single day, and it is you, the provider, who carries that. Do not allow “I will do it later” to become the culture. Make completion expected early, hold people accountable for finishing well before the date, and keep a record so you can see at a glance who is done and who is not. Track everyone against the 31 March 2027 deadline and chase anyone falling behind long before it arrives, not the week it is due.
How Childcare Ready can help
Keeping up with the child safety reforms, and knowing exactly which requirements apply to which people in your service, is one of the trickier parts of running a compliant centre. At Childcare Ready, we help providers understand their obligations and stay on top of changes like this one. If you want help making sense of what your service needs to do, contact us today.
