The programme
Five themes, one day, and the tools to use on Monday. Each theme starts with what you leave with, then why it matters for a community preschool and what we cover.
The 2027 programme is being finalised with Catherine Chen. The themes are confirmed; session order and detail will be published closer to the date. The day runs at St George Sailing Club, 2 Riverside Drive, Sans Souci NSW 2219. General guidance, not legal advice for your situation.
HR and employment
The 2026 core: recruitment, contracts, the awards, probation, performance and hard conversations, and keeping up with changes.
What you leave with
- A recruitment checklist and contract red flags to look for
- A classification translation table for your own team
- A five-step performance cycle and a script for the first 30 seconds of a hard conversation
Why it matters
Turnover in early childhood has run as high as 30 per cent, and one in three educators intend to leave. The award changed on 1 March 2026, and the contracts and conversations you get right this year decide who stays.
What we cover
- Recruiting in a shortage: adverts that draw the right people, checks, and contracts that match the award classification
- The Children’s Services Award from 1 March 2026: the eight CSE levels, translating your team, and the steps to 2029
- The Teachers Award for your early childhood teachers, and where the two awards meet
- Probation, the minimum employment period, and the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code
- Performance management, difficult conversations that meet section 387 of the Fair Work Act, and habits that keep educators
- Keeping up with changes in employment law: the official pages and email updates worth following
In plain words: No process makes a dismissal unchallengeable, and the six-month probation many services use is a practice, not a law. The award changes are a set of steps, not a single percentage, so we work from the Commission’s own tables.
Where this comes from (9 sources)
Sources
- Fair Work Commission [2025] FWCFB 283, 10 December 2025: the new Children’s Services Award structure from 1 March 2026 and the 30 June steps to 2029 (opens in a new tab)
- Fair Work Commission news: minimum wage increases for children’s services employees (opens in a new tab)
- Fair Work Ombudsman, best practice guide: managing underperformance (opens in a new tab)
- Fair Work Commission, what is the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code (opens in a new tab)
- Fair Work Ombudsman, ending employment: the minimum employment period (opens in a new tab)
- Fair Work Ombudsman, legislation changes: recent changes to the Fair Work Act, with email updates (opens in a new tab)
- McDonald, Thorpe and Irvine 2018, Journal of Industrial Relations: turnover up to 30 per cent and why educators stay (opens in a new tab)
- Bull, McFarland, Cumming and Wong 2024, Early Childhood Research Quarterly: one in three of 713 Australian early childhood professionals intended to leave (opens in a new tab)
- Garrett and Gibbs 2025, Education Sciences: six leader practices that enable retention (opens in a new tab)
Bullying, harassment and discrimination
Where the line sits between bullying and reasonable management action, and your duties on harassment and discrimination.
What you leave with
- A plain test for where the line sits between bullying and reasonable management action
- The first steps to take when someone raises bullying or harassment
- A checklist of reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at your service
Why it matters
Bullying can come from a peer or from someone you manage, not only from above. Since December 2022 the law also asks your service to take active steps to eliminate sexual harassment.
What we cover
- Workplace bullying, including lateral bullying between peers and upward bullying of a manager
- Where the line sits: repeated unreasonable behaviour that risks health and safety, not reasonable management action
- Sexual harassment, and your service’s positive duty to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate it
- Anti-discrimination law in NSW: the personal characteristics it protects, from hiring to dismissal
In plain words: We cannot rule on a complaint at your service, and every case turns on its own facts. You leave knowing the tests and the first steps, and when to get advice.
Where this comes from (4 sources)
Sources
- Fair Work Ombudsman, bullying in the workplace: what bullying is, and why reasonable management action is not bullying (Fair Work Act sections 789FA to 789FH) (opens in a new tab)
- Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), section 47C: the positive duty to eliminate sexual harassment and sex discrimination, in force from 13 December 2022 (opens in a new tab)
- Anti-Discrimination NSW, your rights and responsibilities as an employer: the characteristics NSW law protects, and an employer’s liability (opens in a new tab)
- SafeWork NSW Code of Practice: bullying and harassment as psychosocial hazards, and reasonable management action (opens in a new tab)
Wellbeing, conflict and complaints
Keeping your team well and burnout at bay, resolving conflict early, and handling parent complaints constructively.
What you leave with
- A quick check of workload and support risks in your own team
- A calm, fair way to settle a conflict between staff
- Steps for handling a parent complaint, and when to notify the regulator
Why it matters
In an Australian survey, emotional exhaustion predicted which directors and educators planned to leave. You leave with practical ways to ease workloads, settle conflict early and handle complaints well.
What we cover
- Staff wellbeing and burnout prevention, starting with workload, support and recognition rather than resilience tips
- Conflict resolution: dealing with conflict promptly and fairly, before it escalates
- Handling parent complaints constructively, and the complaints your service must notify within 24 hours
In plain words: No session can remove the pressures of the job, and some complaints must still go to the regulator. You leave with ways to act early, and you still need advice when a matter is serious.
Where this comes from (4 sources)
Sources
- Bull, McFarland, Cumming and Wong 2024, Early Childhood Research Quarterly: emotional exhaustion predicted intention to leave among 713 Australian educators and centre directors (opens in a new tab)
- SafeWork NSW Code of Practice: high workloads, poor support, low recognition and conflict as psychosocial hazards, with higher-order controls first (opens in a new tab)
- Zhao, Huo and Van Den Noortgate 2023, Frontiers in Psychology: among 10,581 preschool teachers in rural China, job demands raised burnout and job resources reduced it (opens in a new tab)
- NSW Early Learning Commission, notifications: complaints that allege a serious incident or a breach of the National Law, within 24 hours (National Law section 174) (opens in a new tab)
Workplace health and safety
Your safety duties, and the psychosocial hazards that include bullying, harassment and the workload behind burnout.
What you leave with
- A psychosocial hazard register started for your own service
- A simple safety rhythm: what to check weekly, termly and yearly
- A committee briefing on its duties under work health and safety law
Why it matters
Since 1 July 2026 your service must follow SafeWork NSW’s codes of practice, or match their standard. A simple rhythm that fits a small service keeps your team well and the work on record.
What we cover
- Sections 55C and 55D of the WHS Regulation 2025, and who the PCBU is in a committee-run service
- The SafeWork NSW Code’s hazards in a preschool day: bullying, harassment, conflict, and the heavy workloads behind burnout
- Consultation, the hierarchy of controls, and how to record a risk assessment that a regulator would accept
- Manual handling and floor work, incident response, and your own exposure as the person in charge
In plain words: Attending does not meet a safety duty on its own. You leave with a way to do the work, and the work still has to be done at your service.
Where this comes from (4 sources)
Sources
- SafeWork NSW, legislation: the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025, in force from 22 August 2025, and the duty to comply with codes of practice from 1 July 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- SafeWork NSW Code of Practice: managing psychosocial hazards at work, with sections 55C and 55D of the WHS Regulation 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- Berger et al 2022, Educational Psychology Review: a systematic review of educator wellbeing initiatives, most aimed at individuals rather than job design (opens in a new tab)
- Zhao, Huo and Van Den Noortgate 2023, Frontiers in Psychology: among 10,581 preschool teachers in rural China, job demands raised burnout and job resources reduced it (opens in a new tab)
Governance for committees and directors
A discussion of who decides what, handing over to a new committee, and the early signs of trouble.
What you leave with
- A one-page map of who decides what in your service
- A committee handover checklist for the next AGM
Why it matters
Your committee members carry personal legal duties, and you sit between them and the regulator. A clear map of who decides what protects the committee and you, and assessors check it under Quality Area 7.
What we cover
- Who decides what, and a spending limit your committee approves so routine purchases need no meeting
- Committee duties in plain words: disclosure, care and diligence, good faith, use of position and information
- A committee handover checklist: succession for a committee that changes each year
- Early warning signs of trouble, and how to tell whether your service is viable this year
- Annual reporting: a registered charity generally reports to the ACNC, other associations to NSW Fair Trading
In plain words: This is a discussion, not full governance training, and one day does not discharge anyone’s legal duties. You leave with the map and the checklist, not advice on your own constitution.
Where this comes from (6 sources)
Sources
- Associations Incorporation Act 2009 (NSW): the committee, disclosure of interests and committee members’ duties (opens in a new tab)
- NSW Fair Trading, financial reporting requirements for incorporated associations, updated 1 April 2026: who lodges with Fair Trading and who reports to the ACNC (opens in a new tab)
- ACNC, regulation of charities in New South Wales: charities that are incorporated associations report to the ACNC (opens in a new tab)
- ACECQA, Quality Area 7: governance and leadership (opens in a new tab)
- Phillips and Boyd 2023, Frontiers in Education: Exceeding-rated services named governance, structure and financial capacity as conditions of quality (opens in a new tab)
- Hatzigianni et al 2023, International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy: how management systems shape Quality Area 7 (opens in a new tab)
An indicative day
Indicative timetable: the final order will be published closer to the date. Doors open at 8:45am, and the day runs 9am to 4:30pm.
9am to 9:20am
Welcome and introductions
Meet the other directors in the room and rate your own confidence across the HR areas the day covers.
- A confidence self-assessment you repeat at the end of the day
9:30am to 11am
Session block 1
Recruitment, contracts and the awards, then probation, performance and hard conversations.
- A recruitment checklist and contract red flags to look for
11am to 11:15am
Morning tea. Barista coffee and a chance to keep the conversation going.
11:15am to 1:15pm
Session block 2
Bullying, harassment and discrimination, then wellbeing, conflict, complaints and your safety duties.
- A plain test for where the line sits between bullying and reasonable management action
1:15pm to 2pm
Lunch. Lunch on the deck, with the water in view.
2pm to 3:30pm
Question time
Bring your questions on governance, financial management and the new funding model.
- Plain answers to the governance and money questions you bring
What we cover
- The terms in your constitution, in plain words
- Board meetings and general meetings, and how they differ
- Quorum, and what it means for your meetings
- Why extraordinary meetings are rarely needed
- The board acting as one unit, with no one left out
- The line between operational and strategic decisions
- What financial information to give your committee
- The new funding model for community preschools from 1 January 2027
In plain words: This is open question time, not a training session, and it gives no budget model. A budget has to start from your own service’s figures.
Where this comes from (1 source)
3:30pm to 3:45pm
Afternoon tea. A short break before the planning session.
3:45pm to 4:30pm
Wrap-up and action planning
Turn the day into a 30, 60 and 90 day plan you take back to your service and your committee.
- A 30, 60 and 90 day plan
- A commitment card
What directors took home in 2026
Every director at the 2026 Forum left with a 33-page booklet of 15 handouts. They were written to be used back at the service rather than filed. For 2027, each theme above lists what you leave with.
- Recruitment compliance checklist
- Employment contract essentials
- Children's Services Award quick reference
- Leave entitlements quick reference
- Performance management framework
- Performance improvement plan template
- Managing difficult conversations framework
- Conversation scenario cards
- HR compliance self-audit
- Documentation standards: the 5W framework
- HR confidence self-assessment
- Group scenario worksheet
- My 30, 60 and 90 day action plan
- Key resources and contacts
- HR commitment cards
Two people who work alongside community preschools
Kristian Inglis
Facilitator, HR and workplace health and safety
Employment Compass
Kristian leads Employment Compass and works alongside community preschools across NSW on contracts, the award, performance and the conversations directors find hardest. He facilitated all four 2026 sessions.
Catherine Chen
Co-host, governance and financial management
CC Consultancy
Catherine has spent more than 20 years in early childhood education. She works with NSW community preschools on governance and financial management, and co-hosts the ECEC Governance Network with Employment Compass.
Choose your Monday
Four dates, one programme
Tickets are $500 + GST ($550 total) per person. That includes the full day, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, barista coffee, and the take-home pack.
Questions about the programme? Ask us on the contact page.