Digital interactions are now a regular part of early childhood education, which means keeping children safe and protecting their privacy online is more important than ever. With new updates to Regulation 168 coming soon, here’s what services need to know and how Kinderloop can help.
What’s Changing?
From 1 September 2025, your service will need updated policies that clearly cover:
• How images and videos of children are taken, used, stored and deleted. Services must have clear steps for keeping visual records safe and secure.
• Getting permission from families before using images or videos of their child. Consent should be clear, documented and reviewed regularly.
• Use of CCTV and other surveillance tools. There must be transparent guidelines on how footage is captured, accessed and stored.
• How educators and children use service-issued and personal digital devices. These policies should outline expectations and boundaries.
• How and when children are allowed to use digital devices. Clear, age-appropriate guidelines help children engage with technology safely.
These changes build on the National Model Code introduced in July 2024, which encouraged banning personal devices for capturing images and lifting the bar on digital safety.
What Might This Look Like at Your Service?
• Educators using secure service devices, no personal phones for documentation.
• A central record of family permissions, quick to check and easy to update.
• CCTV placed in approved areas, with access limited to authorised people only.
• Clear staff expectations, educators understand that personal phones are not to be used for capturing or storing documentation during work hours.
• Supervised device use, children are guided to use technology for learning in safe ways.
• Accessible policies, digital safety procedures are shared with staff and families.
• Family info sessions, services run short updates or create visual guides to explain digital safety, or share them on Kinderloop.
• Digital safety lead, one team member helps champion safety and keeps everyone informed.
Kinderloop Can Help
Kinderloop makes it easy to meet these new requirements without creating more work. Here’s how:
• Safe documentation, everything is stored securely, with clear permissions and no need for personal devices.
• Family consents, when a family accepts their invite from you, they agree to never share your Kinderloop content outside of Kinderloop unless given express permission by you.
• Device control, services can set up consistent practices and manage how Kinderloop is used on devices.
• Access limits: You can restrict educator access to work hours, reduce burnout, and help create healthy boundaries.
• Built-in privacy protections, Kinderloop is designed with child safety and privacy in mind. Our platform aligns with Australian privacy laws and includes safeguards for image use, consent, secure storage, and controlled access. Services can also reference our Privacy Policy when developing or updating their own digital safety policies.
Keeping It Positive
While change can feel daunting, this is a great opportunity to build stronger, safer digital practices that protect children and support your team. When everyone understands the changes and feels supported, it becomes easier to embed the new requirements in everyday routines.
Start by involving your team, talk through current practices, find what’s working, and use Kinderloop to help simplify the rest. Share the changes with families and invite their feedback. Small steps can lead to big confidence.
Happy Kinderlooping!
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