Regulating the Standards

The Commission and other Child Safe Standards regulators

A regulator is an organisation that enforces the Child Safe Standards (the Standards) and helps you to know and follow the rules.

Regulators provide information and guidance to organisations to help them comply with the Standards. They also have legal powers to hold organisations to account if they are not complying with the Standards.

The Commission for Children and Young People (the Commission) is one of the regulators of the Standards. There are five other regulators of the Standards. We refer to these as co-regulators.

We work collaboratively with co-regulators to promote the safety of children and compliance with the Standards.

If the Commission is advised of a concern about child safety in an organisation regulated by one of our co-regulators, we may refer the concern on to the relevant co-regulator. In certain instances, we may work jointly with the co-regulator to regulate the organisation.

Who is my regulator?

The six regulators are responsible for the following sectors:

• health services: Department of Health is the regulator for hospitals, community health services, mental health services, drug and alcohol treatment services, and maternal and child health services.
• social and human services: Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) is the Victorian regulator for providers of disability services, housing services, family violence and sexual assault services, and support services for parents and families. They also regulate out of home care services.
• schools and education providers: Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) is the regulator for registered schools, school boarding premises, school-sector organisations providing courses to overseas students, student exchange organisations, non-school senior secondary providers and some registered training organisations.
• early childhood education and care: Department of Education, through its Quality Assessment and Regulation Division, is the regulator for early childhood services. This includes long day care, family day care, outside school hours care and vacation care services, as well as limited hours and occasional care services.
• employers of children: Wage Inspectorate Victoria is the Victorian regulator for organisations that employ children and hold a licence under the Child Employment Act 2003 (Vic).
• other Victorian organisations: the Commission is the regulator of the Standards for all other types of organisations required to comply with the Victorian Standards.

A detailed list of the organisations we regulate is available below:

Organisations we regulate

We regulate organisations in the categories below:

• An applicable entity that operates a school other than—a registered school within the meaning of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006; or a place at which home schooling takes place in accordance with a registration under section 4.3.9 of that Act (e.g. swimming schools, dance schools)
• A post-secondary education institution/provider, within the meaning of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, except for Registered Training Organisations within the meaning of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006
• An applicable entity that provides coaching or tuition services specifically for children
• An applicable entity that provides counselling or other support services specifically for children
• A youth organisation (e.g. the Girl Guides and Boy Scouts)
• An applicable entity that provides cultural, sporting or recreational services specifically for children.
• An applicable entity that provides gym or play facilities specifically for children
• An applicable entity that runs talent or beauty competitions in which children participate
• An applicable entity that provides overnight camps for children
• An applicable entity that provides photography services specifically for children
• An applicable entity that provides professional babysitting services
• An applicable entity that provides, on a publicly funded or commercial basis, a transport service specifically for children
• An applicable entity that provides entertainment and party services specifically for children
• An applicable entity that receives funding under a State contract to provide youth services
• A religious body within the meaning of section 81 of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010
• A charity
• A non-profit body within the meaning of the Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000
• A department within the meaning of the Public Administration Act 2004 (except the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing from 1 July 2024 when the Social Services Regulator will be established)
• An applicable entity that is constituted by or under any Act and that has functions of a public nature (e.g. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Museum, Melbourne Zoo)
• A council

Some organisations will have more than one regulator if they provide more than one type of service or facility to children that fall in different sectors (for example, an early learning centre and a registered school).

View the full list of the different regulators and the categories of organisations they regulate.