National Children’s Education and Care Workforce Strategy

The National Children’s Education and Care Workforce Strategy aims to foster a sustainable and high-quality workforce of early childhood teachers and educators.

On this page:

About the strategy

The National Children’s Education and Care Workforce Strategy is called Shaping our Future. It aims to foster a sustainable and high-quality workforce of early childhood teachers and educators.

A highly skilled and well-supported workforce will:

  • improve outcomes for children
  • support women’s workforce participation.

The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) developed the strategy in collaboration with:

  • the early childhood education and care sector
  • the Australian Government
  • all state and territory governments
  • education and training providers
  • peak organisations
  • regulatory bodies.

The strategy is a living document. This ensures it can respond to emerging workforce challenges over the next 10 years.

Read the National Workforce Strategy on ACECQA’s website

Action areas

The strategy outlines 21 short, medium and long-term actions across 6 focus areas:

  • professional recognition
  • attraction and retention
  • leadership and capability
  • wellbeing
  • qualifications and career pathways
  • data and evidence.

These actions build on the investment by governments and the sector in workforce-related initiatives.

Implementation and evaluation plan

The implementation and evaluation plan commits all governments and the sector to progressing the strategy’s actions as a priority. The plan outlines:

  • implementation steps for each action
  • how progress will be monitored and measured.

Implementation has started, led by government and sector organisations.

Read the implementation and evaluation plan on ACECQA's website

Dashboard

ACECQA has an online dashboard that tracks:

  • progress against the 21 actions
  • a range of complementary initiatives that support the 6 focus areas
  • a set of overarching indicators to measure progress over the lifetime of the strategy.

Access the workforce dashboard on ACECQA’s website

Reports

We commission and publish reports related to the strategy. Publication of reports does not indicate government acceptance of recommendations.

Focus area 2 – attraction and retention

The following reports were developed under action FA2-1: review and develop targeted programs to support studies and placements for specified groups of potential educators and teachers.

Regional and remote potential educators and teachers

Prepared by Scyne Advisory, this report draws on insights from 150 survey participants and highlights key challenges faced by individuals in regional and remote areas pursuing early childhood education and care (ECEC) qualifications.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander potential educators and teachers

Prepared by SNAICC – National Voice for our Children, this report examines how tailored, place-based programs and support from Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations can help grow and sustain the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ECEC workforce.

National workforce forums

ACECQA will host biennial national workforce forums. These will provide stakeholders and governments with an opportunity to review and share progress.

ACECQA hosted the first biennial National Workforce Forum in November 2023. The forum focused on 11 of the 21 actions of the strategy.

Learn more about national workforce forums on ACECQA’s website

More information

Find out more and stay up to date on the National Workforce Strategy on ACECQA’s website.