Childcare Centre Ventilation and HVAC Requirements

What You Need to Know

Childcare centres are classified as Class 9b under the National Construction Code. They have some of the highest ventilation demands of any building type because of occupancy density: a single playroom may hold 20 or more children plus multiple staff members in a space under 100 square metres.

AS 1668.2:2024 requires a minimum outdoor airflow rate of 12 L/s per person for childcare centres. CO2 concentration must stay below 850 ppm above outdoor ambient. Natural ventilation alone rarely meets these targets in playrooms, so mechanical ventilation is standard practice.

Beyond air quality, childcare HVAC design must address acoustics (children and staff occupy these spaces all day), temperature control across rooms with different functions, and dedicated exhaust for nappy change areas and kitchens.

• Outdoor air rates: Minimum 12 L/s per person for childcare occupancies. Count all children and staff in each room. (AS 1668.2:2024)
• CO2 concentration: Must not exceed 850 ppm above outdoor ambient. CO2 sensors in playrooms allow demand-controlled ventilation and provide a measurable compliance check. (AS 1668.2:2024)
• Acoustics: Children and staff spend 8–10 hours per day in these spaces. Select low-noise fan coil units or ducted systems, and install duct attenuators where supply ducts enter playrooms and sleep rooms. Background noise from HVAC should not interfere with speech or sleep.
• Temperature: Maintain 20–24°C in playrooms during occupied hours. Sleep rooms may need a slightly cooler set point. Individual zone control allows each room to be conditioned independently.
• Air intake location: Position outdoor air intakes away from loading docks, roads, car parks, waste storage areas, and exhaust outlets. AS 1668.2 specifies minimum separation distances. Poor intake placement introduces vehicle exhaust, odours, or recirculated stale air into the building.
• Fire safety: Class 9b buildings require smoke detection per NCC Section E. Smoke and fire dampers are needed where ductwork crosses fire compartment boundaries. Coordinate with the fire engineer on smoke hazard management requirements, particularly if the centre is within a mixed-use building.

A typical 80-place childcare centre has 4–6 playrooms, 2–3 sleep rooms, a kitchen, multiple nappy change areas, staff rooms, and a reception area. Total outdoor air demand across all rooms can reach 1,500–2,500 L/s, depending on room sizes and occupancy. That volume of outdoor air needs to be filtered, heated or cooled, and distributed through ductwork to each room.

Split systems alone cannot handle the ventilation load. They recirculate indoor air and provide cooling or heating, but they do not introduce outdoor air. A ducted outdoor air system (sometimes called a fresh air handling unit) is needed alongside the comfort cooling system to meet AS 1668.2. Some designs combine both functions into a single packaged unit with an economy cycle.

Council DA conditions for childcare centres often include specific ventilation and noise requirements that go beyond the NCC. Review these conditions early in the design process. Common additions include acoustic reports demonstrating compliance with EPA noise limits at boundary, restrictions on rooftop plant visibility, and requirements for natural ventilation percentages in outdoor play areas.

If the childcare centre sits within a mixed-use development that includes residential apartments, BASIX requirements apply to the residential component and may influence plant room locations, intake and exhaust positions, and acoustic separation between the childcare and residential zones.