National winners of the 2021 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards announced at gala

Freya Lucas

Mar 01, 2022

Save

The national winners of the 2021 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards were announced on Saturday 26 February 2022, with Melissa Dreger from the City of Ballarat Family Day Care Victoria being named as Educator of the Year at a gala dinner.

National finalists for Educator of the Year were:

Olga Dik, Open Arms Family Day Care, ACT/NSW
Georgette Ahfock, Choices Family Day Care, NT/QLD
Patricia Boyd, Nature Alliance Family Day Care, SA/WA

Lyndall Cotterill of Mid Coast Family Day Care, NSW was named as Coordinator of the Year while Baw Baw Family Day Care was named Service of the Year.

National finalists for Coordinator of the Year were:

Mariam Shahid, Bright Sun Family Day Care, TAS/VIC
Nicole McGregor, Kids at Home Family Day Care, NT/QLD
Angela Clarke, Ngala Family Day Care, SA/WA

National finalists for Service of the Year were:

CASS Family Day Care, ACT/NSW
Excellence in Care Family Day Care, NT/QLD
Bright Futures Children’s Services, SA/WA

Family Day Care Australia congratulated all winners, national finalists, star award winners and everyone who was nominated in this year's awards, thanking those who took the time to nominate. The awards were supported by sponsors, the Tasmanian Government Department of Education and Early Childhood Australia.

Video profiles of all the 2021 National Finalists are available here.

Don’t miss a thing

Worker retention payment update: funding reviews and latest payment processing

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services have been provided with an update on the worker retention payment, including guidance on when a funding review can be requested and confirmation that the latest payment cycle has been processed.

Rachael Ward appointed Children’s Guardian for NSW

A new communication toolkit has been released to support early childhood education and care (ECEC) providers, regulators and sector stakeholders to prepare for the introduction of mandatory national child safety training.

Register now for mandatory national child safety training: new communication toolkit released

Celebrating excellence: awards at the 2026 ECA National Conference

Early Childhood Australia’s national awards program is now open, with nominations and applications invited ahead of the 2026 Early Childhood Australia (ECA) National Conference.

NSW Health reinforces importance of recommended vaccinations for ECEC staff

NSW Health is urging educators and staff working in early childhood education and care (ECEC) to stay up to date with recommended vaccinations, as outlined in the Australian Immunisation Handbook and the Staying healthy: Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and care services.

Worker retention payment update: funding reviews and latest payment processing

Rachael Ward appointed Children’s Guardian for NSW

Register now for mandatory national child safety training: new communication toolkit released

Celebrating excellence: awards at the 2026 ECA National Conference

Early Childhood Australia’s national awards program is now open, with nominations and applications invited ahead of the 2026 Early Childhood Australia (ECA) National Conference.