Blue cards for childcare services

You need a blue card if you provide childcare as part of a commercial service.

Childcare is care of a child:

• when you are not the child’s parent, guardian or relative
• for payment or another reward
• as part of a service that regularly care for children.

You need a blue card if you:

• work as a babysitter, nanny, au pair or demi pair
• look after child actors on a film or television set
• get free or cheaper accommodation in return for caring for children
• provide child-minding services at a hotel or resort kids’ club
• work in a crèche
• provide childcare through a commercial service
• look after children while parents or carers are away
• provide nanny services on your own, outside your work as a registered health practitioner.

You do not need a blue card if you:

• care for a relative's child as part of a family arrangement
• care for children as a parent or guardian
• work in an education and care, see the blue card category for this
• provide a child accommodation through a homestay arrangement, see the blue card category for this.

You need a blue card if your business provides childcare as part of a commercial service.

You need a blue card if you:

• run a babysitting service
• run a nanny agency
• run an au pair service
• run a hotel or resort child-minding service
• provide commercial childcare services for families.

You do not need a blue card if you:

• provide services only to adults
• run accommodation services without providing childcare
• run a service where children are present but no childcare is provided.

Related categories

Your work may fit under another blue card category, such as:

• kindergarten, family day care or outside school hours care
• homestays, overnight camps or exchange programs
• private teaching, coaching or tutoring.