National vision for early childhood education and care

About the vision

Federal, state and territory education and early years ministers are developing a national vision to drive reform of the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector.

The vision will outline how governments and the sector will work together to:

• support children’s education and development outcomes
• support parents’ workforce participation
• grow a strong and sustainable ECEC workforce.

The vision will recognise:

• quality ECEC benefits children in the most formative years of their lives
• the benefits can be especially significant for children from vulnerable and disadvantaged communities
• affordable and accessible ECEC supports workforce participation, which benefits the Australian economy.

Read our frequently asked questions to learn more about the vision

Draft vision

The draft vision was released for consultation in March 2023.

Read the draft vision

Consultation

Consultation on the draft vision occurred between March and August in 2023.

We undertook a range of consultations to ensure we heard from as many voices as possible.

Consultation was guided by 3 key questions:

1. To what extent is the draft vision suitable and appropriate?
2. To what extent is the draft vision easy to follow and understand?
3. How could government work with the sector and delivery partners to achieve the vision outcomes?

Consultation occurred in two phases:

• broad consultation with the sector
• targeted consultation with First Nations stakeholders.

Broad consultation

Broad consultation with the sector occurred between 17 March and 7 April 2023.

This consultation included:

• online surveys
• public submissions
• virtual one-on-one consultations
• virtual group workshops.

This resulted in:

• 298 survey responses
• 27 public submissions
• 5 workshops
• 29 consultations with First Nations organisations, peak bodies, research organisations, remote/regional organisations, government, unions and ECEC services.

Feedback from broad consultation included:

• support for a vision statement supporting children’s access to high-quality, culturally inclusive care
• support for the focus of the vision on children’s education and development
• support for the focus of the vision on the broader benefits of ECEC for children, families, communities, and society beyond the lens of productivity
• positioning education as the focus of the vision acknowledges the value of the ECEC workforce beyond enabling workforce participation
• the vision is easy to read and understand
• the vision largely incorporates and aligns underlying principles
• the scope of the vision reflects the ECEC sector
• inclusion of levers and enablers are needed to support the vision
• the vision will help strengthen the ECEC workforce and improve service quality
• stakeholders expressed an interest in continued collaboration to further develop and deliver the vision.

The following key themes emerged during broad consultation:

• Children’s education and development should be the primary focus of the vision. Placing education at the forefront acknowledges the value of the ECEC workforce beyond enabling workforce participation.
• The vision must consider current settings to ensure it is achievable. The vision should aspire to structural change that provides universal access to ECEC. It should consider changes to the existing market environment largely comprised of private for-profit providers.
• Improved pay and conditions are critical to the success of the vision. The capacity of the sector to attract, train and retain highly skilled, experienced and qualified teachers and educators is vital. It should also consider wellbeing.
• The vision must represent a diverse range of voices. To be truly inclusive, specific stakeholder groups need to be explicitly referenced and the format of the vision adapted based on the target audience.
• Ongoing collaboration with stakeholders is needed to implement the vision. Successful implementation of the vision will require further collaboration. It will also need to consider intersections with the ECEC policy landscape and broader reforms.
• Stewardship should involve collaboration with all system actors to ensure responsibility and accountability for the vision and its outcomes.

Targeted consultation

Targeted consultation with First Nations stakeholders occurred between 26 July and 18 August 2023.

This consultation included:

• 2 virtual workshops
• an online survey.

It also drew on discussions with members of the Early Childhood Care and Development Policy Partnership.

Feedback from targeted consultation included:

• the draft vision does not align with the Priority Reform Areas of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap
• the vision should be framed around the wellbeing and development of children
• the vision is only one part of broader reform needed across ECEC
• there needs to be a greater emphasis on government accountability for delivering the vision and broader ECEC reform
• the draft vision does not embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing
• there are opportunities to better communicate the vision to improve how it resonates with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, services and communities
• the sector wants ongoing two-way communication on the vision and broader ECEC reform.

Next steps

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the draft vision.

The draft vision was updated to address the consultation findings.

National Cabinet is considering the vision in early 2024.

Once agreed by National Cabinet, the vision will provide long-term direction to achieve a quality, accessible, affordable and equitable ECEC sector.

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