MEDIA RELEASE: Securing a brighter future for Australia’s children and families
- Centre for Policy Development welcomes campaign seeking historic early childhood legislation
- Australia’s current early childhood development system is not sufficiently accessible, affordable or of a high enough quality to deliver the outcomes we want for future generations
- Implementing the guarantee will create an interconnected early childhood development system that provides every child and their family with the services and support they need to thrive now and for years to come
15 November 2023 – The Centre for Policy Development (CPD) welcomes the launch of the ‘Every Child’s Right to Thrive by Five – Make It Law’ campaign, which calls on the Commonwealth and State and Territory Governments to legislate the ‘Guarantee for Young Children and Families’, establishing a universally accessible, high-quality early childhood development (ECD) system across Australia.
The guarantee, as first envisioned in CPD’s 2021 ‘Starting Better’ report, offers a blueprint for a nationwide ECD system providing consistent, quality early education, health support for new parents, and equitable parental leave.
It is the culmination of the first 12 months of work in CPD’s Early Childhood Development Initiative and draws on the work of the Centre’s Early Childhood Development Council comprising senior officials from all jurisdictions, ECD experts and sector leaders.
It promises a minimum of three days per week of free or low-cost quality early education and care for all children from birth to school age, comprehensive maternal and child health support for new parents, and expanded parental leave to replace the existing, complex tapestry of services with a streamlined, efficient, and child-centric system.
Implementing the guarantee effectively will require a long-term commitment from the government to support a decade of reforms that build a more accessible, affordable and equitable ECD system, and passing legislation will ensure the government stays the path.
Delivering the guarantee will return a triple dividend of setting children up to thrive, better work-life balance for families and more secure, rewarding jobs in the early childhood sector.
Centre for Policy Development Deputy CEO Annabel Brown said the campaign represents the broader consensus among Australians that we need a better ECD system to support children and families.
“Australian families know all too well how difficult it is to find affordable, high quality early education and care which is the fundamental backbone of the ECD system,” Ms Brown said.
“Recent reviews and inquiries by the Productivity Commission, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission and Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce have all shown that the current ECEC system is not working the way it can and should. We envision a system that is well-funded, expertly stewarded and managed, and seamlessly integrated with other services.”
“We’re going to have to rethink a lot of how the system works, from how it’s funded and where responsibilities sit among levels of government, to how it’s connected to other services and the way families interact with them.”
“Building on ECEC reform and transforming our ECD system is a monumental task that won’t happen overnight. It demands a united front of policymakers, industry figures, educational experts and a wide range of stakeholders in the sector dedicated to a decade of deliberate, strategic reform.”
“But if we get it right, and stay committed to seeing it through, we can make the lucky country the best place to be a child and raise a family for generations to come.”
ENDS
