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Policy in the spotlight at Owners & Landlords Forum as ECEC positions for 2025
Freya Lucas
Jan 28, 2025
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As the countdown begins to the inaugural ECEC Owners & Landlords Forum, to be held in Brisbane on 7 March 2025, Jason Roberts, founder of The Sector, and its partners will join a selection of hand picked subject matter experts from across the early childhood education and care (ECEC) community to unpack what is really happening in the sector right now.
This is particularly relevant in the ECEC policy space which has witnessed a series of material and wide ranging reforms in the last three years, some of which are still very much playing out, and all of which continue to have a direct or indirect impact on key stakeholders, including owners and operators, across the sector.“There is no doubt that from a policy perspective the commencement of Anthony Albanese's first term in Government catalysed a series of wide ranging reforms across the ECEC policy landscape,” Mr Roberts said.
“Whether it be the affordability focused Cheaper Childcare Bill, the industrial relations focused Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill, or the more recent, and still not wholly understood, wage focused Worker Retention Payment Grants initiative, the pace of change from a policy perspective has been unprecedented.”
“The questions in my mind, and in the minds of our delegates, is and remains how we make sense of this slate of policy adjustments in the context of the complex and dynamic operating environment, and what these changes signal about the future of policy choices politicians are likely to make about our sector, especially ahead of a 2025 general election.”
Paul Mondo, President of the ACA and Stacey Fox, Policy Analyst at Dandolo Partners
To help unpack this web of policy questions accomplished and influential president of the Australian Childcare Association, Paul Mondo, and highly respected policy analyst at Dandolo Partners, Stacey Fox, will be joining Mr Roberts on stage to unpack these central questions on ECEC policy.
Mr Mondo brings almost two decades of experience in the ECEC advocacy and operating spheres to the event. Very importantly, Mr Mondo was intimately involved in the extended enterprise bargaining negotiations with both Government and Union stakeholders which ultimately laid the foundations for the wage increases passed as part of the Wage Retention Payment grants.
“Mr Mondo’s close proximity to Government, his direct exposure to key policy discussions and his years advocating for ECEC owners, which through his ownership of a small network of services includes himself, brings a uniquely valuable perspective on ECEC policy, both past, present and future,” Mr Roberts said.
In addition, Ms Fox, who has time and time again demonstrated a profound ability to authentically harvest, process and evaluate the impact of policy measures and reform from a range of perspectives on the early childhood education and care sector and beyond, will contribute nuanced insights to the panel.
“Ms Fox is arguably the ECEC sector’s leading policy researcher at this point of time, and her broad network of exposure across Government and ECEC systems and settings will provide a valuable counterpoint to Mr Mondo’s areas of expertise and really help contextualize the many questions we expect from delegates in this important session,” Mr Roberts said.
The ECEC Owners & Landlords Forum - A unique opportunity to engage with experts
The ECEC Owners and Landlords Forum, an innovative new event format launched as part of the Connect+ series by The Sector, aims to offer business owners and landlords the opportunity to engage with leading subject matter experts and proven, high profile ECEC leaders via carefully curated, moderator-led panel discussions combined with extended delegate-led Q&A.
Session 1 “The ECEC Policy Environment - Understanding the past, and preparing for the future” will kick off the event and aims to address some of the many questions that both ECEC owners and landlords are grappling with at this time of material policy evolution, and potential future change.
“Our intention at The Sector has always been to ensure that owners and landlords are sufficiently informed about their sector in a way which helps them to navigate their day to day roles and responsibilities,” Mr Roberts said.
“The value of this panel is that it will aim to answer some of the high level questions that we all have about ECEC policy at the moment, questions like, “why have we seen this burst of activity in the last few years and will it extend to the next?” and “to what degree will a change in Government impact our sector?” and perhaps, most importantly, “is $10 a day child care likely to become a reality and how will it impact us all?”
To find out more about the Owners and Landlords Forum click here.
To register click here or contact Anna Boshell via email at anna@thesector.com.au for more information.
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