The Early Childhood Care and Development Policy Partnership met on 8 and 9 September 2026 in Meanjin/Brisbane to progress shared priorities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.
On this page:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and representatives from all governments discussed a range of reform priorities, including:
- joint efforts to progress Closing the Gap Target 12
- implementation of the First Nations Education Policy
- embedding the National Agreement on Closing the Gap Priority Reforms into the design of the potential Early Education and Care Commission.
Members also discussed:
- better ways to track progress on the partnership’s priorities
- implementing recommendations from its independent evaluation.
The Policy Partnership is an Australian Government commitment. It brings together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders with governments to work in genuine partnership to drive community-led, early childhood care and development outcomes.
The Policy Partnership will meet again in December 2026.
Read the meeting 15 outcomes summary to learn more about the discussions and next steps.