Supervision of Day Care Centres for Toddlers Law, 5779-2018
חוק הפיקוח על מעונות יום לפעוטות, תשע"ט-2018
Published: 2018-10-31Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2025-09-16 · Last amended 2024-11-14✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-29
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Chapter VI: Administrative Stop Order and Judicial Stop Order
Administrative Stop Order§
32.
(a)Where the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to suspect that a condition of the conditions for the grant of an operating licence or a temporary licence under section 6 or 18, as the case may be, has ceased to be fulfilled, or that conditions of such a licence or a provision of the provisions under this Law have been breached, and that harm to the wellbeing or safety of toddlers staying at the day care centre for toddlers is being caused thereby, or that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that such harm will be caused thereby, the Commissioner may require the licence holder to fulfil such condition (in this Chapter – a warning), in the manner and within the period set out in the warning.
(b)Where a warning has been given and its provisions have not been complied with in the manner and within the period set out therein, or where the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to suspect that a day care centre for toddlers is operating without an operating licence or without a temporary licence, the Commissioner may, by Order, direct the operator of the day care centre for toddlers or its manager to stop or restrict the use of the premises in which the day care centre for toddlers is operated, including by way of its closure or in any other manner that appears to the Commissioner appropriate in the circumstances of the matter, in order to bring about a cessation or restriction of such use, all to an extent not exceeding what is required (in this Law – an administrative stop order).
(c)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b), where the Commissioner finds that as a result of the activity of the day care centre for toddlers there is a real possibility of immediate harm to the wellbeing of the toddlers staying therein, the Commissioner shall issue an administrative stop order immediately, and may do so without having given a prior warning.
(d)An administrative stop order shall not be given unless the operator of the day care centre for toddlers in respect of which the Order is given has been afforded an opportunity to state arguments; where the operator cannot be located with reasonable diligence, such opportunity shall be afforded to the manager of the day care centre for toddlers, to the extent that the manager can be located with reasonable diligence.
(e)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (d), the Commissioner may give an administrative stop order without having previously afforded the operator of a day care centre for toddlers or its manager an opportunity to state arguments, provided that such opportunity is afforded to one of them as soon as possible thereafter, where one of the following applies:
(1)the Order is given pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c);
(2)the day care centre for toddlers is operating without an operating licence or a temporary licence;
(3)notice has been given by a district physician, the district physician's deputy, or a person authorised for this purpose by the Director General of the Ministry of Health, regarding the existence of a health hazard to toddlers staying at the day care centre for toddlers; for this purpose, "district physician" – as defined in the Public Health Ordinance, 1940;
(4)the affording of the opportunity would be likely to frustrate the purpose of the Order.
(f)An administrative stop order shall include, inter alia, the particulars of the day care centre for toddlers in respect of which it is given, a description of the act or omission and the condition or breach that served as the grounds for giving the Order.
(g)The Commissioner shall set out in the administrative stop order provisions regarding its implementation and the means of ensuring compliance therewith, including provisions regarding the delivery of notice to the parents of the toddlers staying at the day care centre for toddlers in respect of which the Order is given, to the employees of the centre and to any person specified in the Order, of the giving of the Order and of the reasons for its issuance.
(h)The Commissioner shall ensure that a copy of the administrative stop order is displayed at the day care centre for toddlers in respect of which it is given, and shall deliver it to the operator of the centre and to its manager if they can be located with reasonable diligence, and shall also publish in the registry as defined in section 19, notice of the giving of the administrative stop order, the name of the person against whom it was given and the nature and circumstances of the matter on account of which it was given; where the operator of the day care centre for toddlers in respect of which the administrative stop order is given, or its manager, cannot be located with reasonable diligence, the Order shall be delivered by affixing it to an external wall of the premises used as a day care centre for toddlers, and where there is no external wall – to another place that is visible on the real property; the date and time of affixing shall be recorded on the body of the affixed Order.
(i)An administrative stop order shall remain in force for the period specified therein, and the Commissioner may extend its validity for additional periods, provided that the total of all periods does not exceed 90 days from the day on which it was given.
(j)A decision of the Commissioner under this section may be challenged by petition to the Magistrate's Court in which the President of the Magistrate's Court for whose jurisdiction the decision was given sits, within 30 days from the day on which the decision was delivered, and in respect of an administrative stop order – within the period of the Order.
(k)The filing of a petition under subsection (j) does not suspend the validity of an administrative stop order, so long as the court has not decided otherwise.
Judicial Stop Order§
33.
The Magistrate's Court in which the President of the Magistrate's Court sits may, upon the application of the Commissioner, order the operator of a day care centre for toddlers or its manager to stop or restrict the use of the premises in which the day care centre for toddlers is operated, including by way of its closure or in any other manner that appears to the court appropriate in the circumstances of the matter, in order to bring about a cessation or restriction of such use, all to an extent not exceeding what is required, if it finds that a condition of the conditions for the grant of an operating licence or a temporary licence under section 6 or 18, as the case may be, has ceased to be fulfilled, or that conditions of such a licence or a provision of the provisions under this Law have been breached.
Judicial Stop Order following the Filing of an Indictment§
34.
(a)Where an indictment has been filed for an offence under section 57(1) or (2), the court to which the indictment was filed may order the cessation or restriction of the use of the premises in which the day care centre for toddlers is operated, until the conclusion of the legal proceedings or for another period that it shall determine; the court may set out in the judicial stop order provisions regarding those responsible for the implementation of the Order and the means of ensuring its implementation.
(b)Where a person has been convicted of an offence as referred to in subsection (a), the court may, in addition to any penalty it imposes, give a judicial stop order.
Appeal against a Decision in the Matter of a Judicial Stop Order§
35.
(a)A decision to give a judicial stop order under section 34(a) may be appealed to the appellate court.
(b)A decision to give a judicial stop order under section 34(b) may be appealed as part of the appeal against the sentence.
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Contact Us →Chapter VII: Administrative Enforcement Measures
Section A: Imposition of a Financial Penalty
Definitions – Chapter VII§
36.
In this Chapter –
"Commissioner" means a Commissioner for the purpose of a financial penalty who is an employee of the Ministry appointed for this purpose by the Director General of the Ministry;
"small centre" means a day care centre for toddlers in which the number of toddlers staying is at least the number set out in the First Schedule and not more than 20 toddlers;
"medium centre" means a day care centre for toddlers in which between 21 and 50 toddlers are staying;
"large centre" means a day care centre for toddlers in which 51 toddlers or more are staying.
Financial Penalty§
37.
(a)Where a person has operated a day care centre for toddlers in respect of which no operating licence or temporary licence has been granted, or in contravention of the conditions of such a licence, in contravention of the provisions of section 4(a), the Commissioner may impose upon that person a financial penalty in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, in the amount set out below:
(1)in respect of a small centre – NIS 12,500;
(2)in respect of a medium centre – NIS 25,000;
(3)in respect of a large centre – NIS 30,000.
(b)Where a licence holder has failed to display the operating licence or temporary licence granted to that holder in a prominent place at the day care centre for toddlers, in contravention of the provisions of section 11, the Commissioner may impose upon that holder a financial penalty in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, in the amount set out below:
(1)in respect of a small centre – NIS 500;
(2)in respect of a medium centre – NIS 1,000;
(3)in respect of a large centre – NIS 1,250.
(c)Where a licence holder has breached a condition of the conditions for the operation of a day care centre for toddlers set out in a provision under section 7(a), or has breached a provision of the provisions under this Law listed in Column A of the Second Schedule, the Commissioner may impose upon that holder a financial penalty in the amount set out alongside that provision in Column B, Column C or Column D, as the case may be.
Breach under Aggravated Circumstances§
38.
(a)Where the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to assume that a person has breached a provision of the provisions under this Law as referred to in section 37 or in the Second Schedule, under aggravated circumstances, the Commissioner may impose upon that person a financial penalty in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, at a rate of one and a half times the amount of the financial penalty as referred to in section 37 or in the Second Schedule, as the case may be, that may be imposed upon that person for that breach.
(b)In this section, "aggravated circumstances" means a breach that relates to more than one day care centre for toddlers.
Notice of Intent to Impose Liability§
39.
(a)Where the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to assume that a person has breached a provision of the provisions under this Law, as referred to in section 37 or in the Second Schedule (in this Chapter – the violator), and intends to impose a financial penalty upon that person in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, the Commissioner shall deliver to the violator written notice of the intent to impose a financial penalty upon that person (in this Chapter – notice of intent to impose liability).
(b)In the notice of intent to impose liability, the Commissioner shall indicate, inter alia, the following:
(1)the act or omission (in this Chapter – the act) constituting the breach and the time of its commission;
(2)the amount of the financial penalty and the period for its payment;
(3)the violator's right to state arguments before the Commissioner in accordance with the provisions of section 40;
(4)the authority to add to the amount of the financial penalty on account of a continuing breach or a repeated breach in accordance with the provisions of section 42.
Right to Be Heard§
40.
A violator to whom a notice of intent to impose liability has been delivered in accordance with the provisions of section 39 may state arguments, in writing, before the Commissioner, regarding the intent to impose a financial penalty upon that person and regarding the amount thereof, within 30 days from the date of delivery of the notice, and the Commissioner may extend the said period by an additional period not exceeding 30 days.
Decision of the Commissioner and Payment Demand§
41.
(a)The Commissioner shall decide, after having considered the arguments stated under section 40, whether to impose a financial penalty upon the violator, and may reduce the amount of the financial penalty in accordance with the provisions of section 43.
(b)Where the Commissioner has decided under the provisions of subsection (a) –
(1)to impose a financial penalty upon the violator – the Commissioner shall deliver to the violator a written demand to pay the financial penalty (in this Chapter – payment demand), in which the Commissioner shall indicate, inter alia, the updated amount of the financial penalty and the period for its payment;
(2)not to impose a financial penalty upon the violator – the Commissioner shall deliver to the violator written notice of such decision.
(c)In the payment demand or in the notice under subsection (b), the Commissioner shall set out the reasons for the decision.
(d)Where the violator has not stated arguments under the provisions of section 40 within the period referred to in that section, the notice of intent to impose liability shall, upon the expiry of that period, be deemed to be a payment demand delivered to the violator on that date.
Continuing Breach and Repeated Breach§
42.
(a)In the case of a continuing breach, one fiftieth of the financial penalty prescribed for that breach shall be added thereto for each month during which the breach continues.
(b)In the case of a repeated breach, an amount equal to the financial penalty prescribed for that breach shall be added thereto; for this purpose, "repeated breach" means a breach of a provision of the provisions under this Law as referred to in section 37 or in the Second Schedule, within two years of a previous breach of the same provision on account of which a financial penalty was imposed upon the violator or on account of which the violator was convicted.
Reduced Amounts§
43.
(a)The Commissioner may not impose a financial penalty in an amount lower than the amounts prescribed in section 37 or in the Second Schedule, as the case may be, except in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b).
(b)The Minister, with the consent of the Minister of Justice, may prescribe cases, circumstances and considerations on account of which a financial penalty may be imposed in an amount lower than the amounts prescribed in section 37 or in the Second Schedule, as the case may be, and at the rates to be prescribed.
Updated Amount of the Financial Penalty§
44.
(a)The financial penalty shall be according to its updated amount on the day of delivery of the payment demand, and in respect of a violator who has not stated arguments before the Commissioner as referred to in section 40 – on the day of delivery of the notice of intent to impose liability; where a petition has been filed with a court under section 52 and the payment of the financial penalty has been stayed by the Commissioner or by the court, the financial penalty shall be according to its updated amount on the day of the decision on the petition.
(b)The amounts of the financial penalty prescribed in section 37 and in the Second Schedule shall be updated on 1 January of each year (in this subsection – the update date), in accordance with the rates of change of the index known on the update date compared with the index that was known on 1 January of the preceding year; the said amount shall be rounded to the nearest amount that is a multiple of NIS 10; for this purpose, "index" means the consumer price index published by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
(c)The Commissioner shall publish in Reshumot (Official Gazette) a notice of the updated amounts of the financial penalty under subsection (b).
Time for Payment of the Financial Penalty§
45.
The violator shall pay the financial penalty within 30 days from the day of delivery of the payment demand as referred to in section 41.
Shekel Interest and Late Payment Fees§
46.
Where the violator has not paid a financial penalty on time, shekel interest and late payment fees shall be added thereto for the period of delay, until its payment, and the provisions of the Interest and Linkage Law shall apply, with the necessary modifications.
Collection§
47.
A financial penalty shall be collected for the State Treasury, and its collection shall be governed by the Fines, Fees and Costs Collection Authority Law, 5755-1995.
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