On 4 and 5 March 2026, the Early Childhood Care and Development Policy Partnership came together on Palawa Country in Lutruwita/Tasmania to progress shared priorities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.
The 13th meeting brought together First Nations leaders and government representatives to advance reforms in early childhood care and development.
The meeting was co-chaired by:
- Catherine Liddle, CEO, SNAICC – National Voice for our Children
- Kylie Crane, Deputy Secretary, Early Childhood, Australian Government Department of Education.
The meeting opened with a Welcome to Country by Niara Mansell, a trawlwoolway pakana woman and the manager of pakana kanaplila, a Tasmanian Aboriginal traditional and contemporary dance group.
At the meeting, members:
- received an update from the Department of Social Services on work to increase funding for Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO) child and family services. The consultation report was recently released.
- agreed next steps to progress research on funding models for ACCOs in the child and family services sector, including providing recommendations to the Joint Council on Closing the Gap
- noted progress on early years implementation advice, with a steering committee of Education officials and SNAICC to lead work on a shared definition for ACCO integrated early years services ahead of the Joint Council meeting in May 2026
- received an update from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing on the Thriving Kids reforms, emphasising the importance of continued partnership as design and implementation progress
- agreed to focus initial data work on identifying priority data gaps, supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-led use of data.
The Policy Partnership will meet again in June 2026.
Learn more about the Policy Partnership and read the meeting 13 summary.