Early Childhood Australia National Conference
I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands on which the Early Childhood Australia National Conference is being held, the Whadjuk people.
I pay my respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people joining us today. And thank you to Aunty Robyn for her warm welcome to each of us.
I’d like to acknowledge Early Childhood Australia for the work that they do providing a voice for young children, and for putting on this important event.
And I acknowledge my colleague, Sabine Winton MLA, the Western Australian Minister for Education, who you will also hear from shortly.
I think everyone here would agree that early childhood is a special time.
Ninety per cent of brain development happens before a child turns five.
And the right supports in that first five years can set a child up to succeed in life.
Early childhood education plays a huge role in that.
It helps prepare children to thrive at school and beyond. It changes lives.
I’ve seen that at services around the country.
Whether that’s the service I visited last week in Burnie, in northern Tasmania – an incredible example of the benefits of long-standing, skilled staff.
Or a small, but mighty, Gowrie site I went to in Clemton Park, in south-west Sydney – where parents are reaping the benefits of having early learning located at a local primary school.
Or a service in Ashgrove, in Queensland, where I met Siji – a dedicated educator who’s been there for 20 years.
Or Jindi, back in my home state of Victoria. A service that’s a collaboration of the local council, Goodstart, and the Brotherhood of St Laurence.
The educators there told me about how strong relationships are first and foremost in building trust with families and improving outcomes for children.
A few months ago, during the federal election campaign, the Prime Minister was asked what he’d like to be remembered for.
He said delivering universal early childhood education and care.
That remains a core priority for our Government.
Because it means giving every child access to the benefits of quality early learning.
No matter what their parents do.
No matter whether they live – in Perth or the Pilbara.
And since the election, we’ve got straight back to work on building quality universal early education and care – pillar by pillar.
A big part of this has been an immediate focus on child safety.
That is appropriate.
The allegations of abuse that we’ve all seen over recent months are horrific.
They demanded a swift and bipartisan response.
That’s why we introduced tough new laws and announced a $189 million National Child Safety Package.
This is powerful. It is needed. And it is driving real change.
We know there is no quality without safety. And we’ll keep working shoulder-to-shoulder with the States and Territories on child safety and quality in early learning.
We’re also investing in our workforce.
I know that we have a lot of educators here today.
I am proud to have represented these highly skilled educators before I entered Parliament.
It was a privilege to advocate on behalf these hard-working people, and it is a privilege to be here today as Minister for Early Education.
The fact is that for too long, your hard work was taken for granted.
When the Albanese Government was first elected in 2022, educators were leaving the sector in droves.
They loved their jobs. But love doesn’t pay the bills.
The last time I was in WA, I met an educator named Jess at a Goodstart in Kalamunda.
Jess loves to provide a safe and secure place for the children in her care to learn and grow.
She says it’s what makes coming to work worth it.
The babies room is her favourite.
And she’s dedicated an impressive 16 years to early education and care.
Jess told me that educators like herself do their jobs because they’re passionate.
But they can’t do it for love alone.
We need people like Jess. We should invest in people like Jess.
That’s why our Government delivered an historic 15 per cent pay rise, helping educators like Jess to stay in the jobs they love.
That pay rise is already paying big dividends.
Advertised vacancies are down significantly in the last year.
This pay rise recognises the important work that our early childhood educators do.
It also benefits children. Because the foundation of quality in early learning is a quality workforce.
Today I can announce that a new Workforce Reference Group will be established.
Its job will be to collaborate and engage with stakeholders on the development of policies that affect this workforce.
Importantly, the Workforce Reference Group will include educators – because their experiences are so important if we want to get this right.
I think we can learn a lot from people like Kristy, who I met at a service in Glenelg, in South Australia.
She’s worked in early education for over 20 years. And she told me it’s great to see how far we’ve come in that time.
She’s been in her current workplace for nearly 10 years. She says they have great worker retention.
Educators like Kristy know what works, and what doesn’t.
They know where the sticking points are – and the opportunities.
We need people like Kristy to help us make sure our new quality and safety measures hit the mark – including new mandatory training and the first nationwide register of educators.
If we are going to deliver quality and safe universal early education and care, then input from educators is invaluable.
The Albanese Government also remains focused on affordability.
We know there have been some tough years for the hip pocket for many families. And early learning bills can take a big chunk out of your household budget.
We’re working to ease that strain, so children don’t miss out on the opportunities early learning provides.
We’ve already made early childhood education and care more affordable for over a million families.
Our changes to the Child Care Subsidy have cut out of pocket costs by around $7,500 for the average family.
And in just a few months, in January, our 3-Day Guarantee will kick off.
That will give every child an entitlement to 72 hours per fortnight of subsidised early learning.
For First Nations children – that’s a full 100 hours.
It’s a practical piece of the puzzle to support children and families.
The final pillar is making early education and care more accessible, so that more Australian children can benefit.
There’s a lot of work to do.
Our $1 billion Building Early Education Fund will deliver more not-for-profit services in the places where families need them most.
We’ll do that in partnership with the states and territories, and through grant grounds for quality not-for-profit and community providers.
I’m pleased to announce today that we’ll be providing support to early childhood education and care services through the fifth round of the Community Child Care Fund, which will open in early 2026.
We will extend these grants from the previous two years, to three years.
This will help improve the longer-term viability of services, especially those operating in communities experiencing disadvantage or vulnerability.
Our Building Early Education Fund is about expanding access, particularly for children in under-served or unserved parts of the country, including some outer suburbs and regional areas.
Because we want to ensure all children – no matter where they live or what their parents do – have access to quality early learning.
Universal early education and care is a generational reform.
The Albanese Government wants to leave a lasting legacy.
We want to build a strong, stable sector.
Where children get the best possible start in life.
Where families get the support they need to go back to work when ready, trusting that their children are in safe hands.
And where educators are valued and rewarded for their hard work.
Universal early education and care – and quality early education and care.
Because Australian children – and Australian families – deserve no less.
Thank you once again for the opportunity to be here and to open this important event.
I hope you leave this conference inspired and encouraged.
I look forward to continuing to work with all of you as we seek to give every Australian child access to quality early education and care.
No matter where they live, no matter what their parents do.