Federal Education Minister Jason Clare (right) wants a national Early Education and Care Commission. Photo: Jason Clare Facebook.
State and territory education ministers are being asked to get on board a Federal Government plan for a national Early Education and Care Commission, as the next step in the push to bolster safety in child care.
Federal Education Minister Jason Care said development of the new commission would be at the top of the agenda for discussion when ministers from all jurisdictions next met in July.
“With more than one million Australian families relying on early childhood education and care, the system needs to be stronger and safer across the country,” he said.
“There is nothing more important than the safety of our children.
“That is why the Australian Government has invested $226 million to support a package of reforms to lift safety and standards across the sector.
“We’ve cut the cost. We’re also driving big reforms to improve access and safety.
“This is the next potential step to drive long-term reform.”
Establishing an Early Education and Care Commission was a recommendation of the Productivity Commission in its 2024 inquiry report outlining a path to universal early childhood education and care.
It is anticipated that the potential new commission could have a role in helping to ensure services are located where families need them.
That would require reforming the existing Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).
Early Childhood Education Minister Jess Walsh said it was important the government got it right, so it would consult with the sector and other stakeholders on the best way forward.
The consultation will include service providers, unions, peak bodies and other stakeholders.
“We want Australian children to have access to the quality early learning they deserve,” Senator Walsh said.
“We’ve already taken decisive action to strengthen this important sector and this is the next possible step in that process.
“A commission could help ensure early learning services are located where families need them most, while supporting strong standards across the sector.”
The Federal Government has implemented a number of the Productivity Commission’s recommendations already, including establishing a new National Early Childhood Worker Register, mandatory child safety training for educators, a national CCTV trial in centres, more compliance officers doing unannounced spot checks and banning personal devices in centres.
Few details have been released about the make-up and remit of the proposed new commission, but the United Workers Union has welcomed the proposal as a positive measure to increase regulatory certainty and improve child safety.
The union’s early education director Carolyn Smith said getting states and territories on the same page over new childcare regulations was not a simple task.
“After the shocking safety incidents revealed in early education last year it became clear that a patchwork regulatory response across states and a national early education authority were not necessarily the best model to respond to the serious issues being raised,” she said.
“We have consistently welcomed regulatory changes designed to make the system safer for children and we believe significant improvements have been made on child safety nationally.
“However, our members have seen slightly different regulatory responses across states and an uncertain role for the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority.
“We are now briefing our members about their responsibilities under new regulatory changes, but those briefings are slightly different depending on which state they live in.
“Anything that promises to further improve national standards and increase regulatory certainty will be welcomed by our members, who are doing a job they love to give children and families the quality education and care they deserve.”
The union says educators have continued to raise serious concerns about whether the current settings of the National Quality Framework administered by ACECQA – particularly around ratios – live up to the ambition of delivering quality education and care to Australian children.
Ms Smith said ACECQA had little ability to address so-called “childcare deserts” in the provision of early education and care, despite the Federal Government providing the vast bulk of funding to support the sector.
The announcement comes as new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows more children aged four to five were enrolled in preschool last year.
The ABS figures show almost 9000 more children were enrolled in preschool last year, up 2.6 per cent on 2024 levels and going from 341,568 to 350,491.
Growth was even stronger for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, with a 7.4 per cent increase and up from 23,206 to 24,914.
Of all children enrolled in preschool there was also a 2.8 per cent increase in the number of children enrolled in preschool for at least 600 hours.
The number of services delivering an early education program delivered to preschool aged children increased from 13,474 to 13,793.
Original Article published by Chris Johnson on Region Canberra.
