Childcare exclusion and contagious conditions in Queensland

Who regulates childcare in Queensland

The Early Childhood Regulatory Authority, in the Department of Education's Early Childhood Division, administers the National Quality Framework in Queensland.

Prescribed contagious conditions

Chapter 5 of Queensland's Public Health Act 2005 aims to stop certain "prescribed contagious conditions" spreading in early childhood services and schools. The Public Health Regulation 2018 lists them and sets the prescribed periods — the minimum time a child must stay away. Queensland Health's list includes chickenpox, diphtheria, enterovirus 71, gastroenteritis, rubella, Hib, hepatitis A, measles, meningococcal disease, polio, typhoid and paratyphoid, tuberculosis and whooping cough. Prescribed periods can also apply to unimmunised children during an outbreak, such as measles.

Queensland Health notes these duties cover family day care, centre-based care, home-based services, vacation care and outside school hours care.

Who must do what

• Educators must tell the person in charge if they think a child may have a prescribed contagious condition.
• The person in charge — whoever runs the service day to day — may tell a parent, and may direct them to keep their child home for the prescribed period, but must first consult a doctor or a Queensland Health Public Health Medical Officer.
• Parents must keep their child home during the prescribed period if they know, or should know, the child may have a prescribed condition.

The Time out poster

For everyday exclusion decisions, Queensland Health publishes the Time out poster with recommended minimum exclusion periods for common contagious conditions, plus a brochure for parents. Older copies still circulate, so check yours against the current versions on Queensland Health's website.

Who to contact

If a contagious condition is suspected or confirmed and you need advice, contact your local public health unit. Services can share information with Queensland Health when it's needed to manage a contagious condition. Queensland Health also publishes guidance on managing gastro outbreaks and cleaning up spills.

Your part

Report possible cases to the person in charge straight away, keep illness records accurate, and follow your service's exclusion policy.