Child safety failures, workforce strain and uneven market growth have placed early childhood education and care under ongoing scrutiny. As the Senate inquiry hearings continue, the implications for providers, approved providers, educators and regulators are becoming clearer.
In every early childhood setting, culture and language are far more than “add‑ons” to programming, they are powerful foundations for identity, connection and inclusion. What children experience in their early years shapes how they see themselves, how they learn, and how they relate to others. Yet too often, cultural celebration is treated as a token activity rather than a lived, everyday part of learning.
An Early Childhood Education Summit held at the University of Sydney and online on Saturday 21 February 2026 has endorsed a statement of ten reform demands aimed at strengthening child safety and structural oversight in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector.
Regulation 168 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations is not a policy checklist. For approved providers and nominated supervisors, it is a test of governance capability, risk oversight and leadership influence. The critical question is not whether policies exist, it is whether leadership understands how to review, embed and monitor them effectively.
The Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector is compliance-rich, policy-driven, and heavily regulated. We have clear serious incident notification requirements, mandated emergency evacuation rehearsals, and defined governance responsibilities under the National Quality Framework (NQF). Yet, a critical question remains: are we actually crisis-ready?
Sparrow Nest Early Learning No 4 Pty Ltd, the approved provider of Sparrow Early Learning Yarrabilba, has been fined $20,000 following a successful prosecution relating to supervision and child safety failures.
More than 100 regulatory officers conducted unannounced inspections at over 220 early learning services in a single-day compliance operation, as the NSW Early Learning Commission intensifies oversight across the sector.
In February the Western Australian State Administrative Tribunal handled two separate disciplinary proceedings brought by the CEO of the Department of Communities against out-of-school-hours care (OSHC) providers. Both cases highlight critical failures in active supervision, particularly concerning highly vulnerable children diagnosed with autism who managed to wander away from their respective services unnoticed.
Water safety remains at the forefront of national concern, as drowning continues to be the leading cause of accidental death for children aged 0-4.
A permit-approved early learning and medical asset in Melbourne’s west is set to test investor appetite for secure income, long-term leases and value-add potential in a high-growth corridor.
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