Peak bodies respond to Queensland’s Free Kindy announcement

A number of peak bodies including the Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA), Thrive by Five, C&K and the Independent Education Union Queensland and Northern Territory (IEU-QNT) have responded to yesterday’s announcement that kindergarten will be free for all Queensland children from 1 January 2024.

“The Queensland Government has set an example which other governments should follow,” said IEU-QNT Branch Secretary Terry Burke.

“Increasing access to kindergarten for vulnerable families and committing to ongoing long-term funding will allow centres to employ staff long-term, and will also provide further opportunities for professional development and training to upskill staff and increase job security.”

“This critical funding not only ensures the viability of the sector,” he continued, “but means employers no longer have excuses to avoid enhancing the wages and working conditions of early childhood education employees.”

C&K CEO Dr Sandra Cheeseman said it was an exciting time to be part of the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector.

“This investment, coupled with the Federal Government’s investment to ease the ECEC workforce challenges, and the sector’s focus on improving wages and conditions, means we are heading in the right direction to grow and support the pipeline of teachers and educators into the profession.”

“We have been consulting with the State Government through this process and are committed to building the workforce we’ll need to meet the expected increase in demand for kindergarten places from next year.”

Thrive by Five Director Jay Weatherill congratulated Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and her government on the announcement saying there is “a growing momentum across the nation for making at least three days of early learning available for every Australian child, from the early months through to when they’re ready for primary school.”

“A key focus for Thrive by Five over the next year will be building on the great work of states like Queensland, NSW, Victoria and the SA Royal Commission for national agreement on a Federal-State Partnership that delivers universal three-year-old preschool nationwide,  complementing the existing partnership agreement in place for four-year-old preschool.”

“Increased public investment in early learning is precisely the right policy for the times,” agreed Elizabeth Death, CEO of ELACCA. 

“This significant investment in early childhood education will help to provide the best possible start for children in Queensland,” Ms Death said, noting that ELACCA looks forward to working with the Queensland Government, and Department of Education in the implementation of the Free Kindy program.