A Western Australian approved provider has been fined $20,000 after an eight-month-old child sustained a deep partial thickness burn in a babies room incident involving a bottle warmer.
As workforce pressures continue to shape early childhood education and care (ECEC) across regional New South Wales, structured relocation support is emerging as a critical lever for attraction, retention and long-term community stability.
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?
Small and standalone early childhood education and care (ECEC) providers in NSW will receive targeted operational support under Round 2 of the Business Capability Development Program (BCDP).
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.
The 2025 financial year has marked a complex and defining period for Australia’s early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector. The FY25 results and strategic repositioning of G8 Education, Australia’s largest ASX-listed provider, operating 395 centres, offer a clear signal to commercial investors, approved providers, large operators and policymakers about the pressures reshaping the operating environment.
As champions of child safety, it is crucial for early childhood education and care services to stay updated on the latest regulations. This is a reminder that from February 27, 2026, significant changes to the Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations will come into effect.
When early childhood experts argue in favour of a universal system, they are not proposing a one size-fits-all solution. This sector has many different providers, including government, private and not for profit providers, across the spectrum of large national operators to small single site family businesses or community groups. There is also a spectrum of service models, from family day care and in-home care, to preschool, kindergarten and long day care centres, as well as outside school hours care and multi-purpose child and family hubs. Communities are diverse and families have different needs; it is important to provide choice and flexibility.
Tasmania’s Minister for Education, Jo Palmer, has responded to the Opposition’s newly announced early learning policy, arguing it mirrors a reform proposed by the Liberal Government a decade ago.
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