The number of children using Child Care Subsidy approved care fell in every state and territory in the June quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier. At the same time, centre based day care services continued to grow nationally and average fees increased.
For Sparrow Early Learning, finding a childcare management system (CCMS) that could support their scale and ambitions was never going to be a decision made lightly. Sparrow needed a partner it could trust to operate at its scale for years to come, a structured migration plan, and support that protected educators, operational teams and, most importantly, children and families.
The Childcare Leadership Alliance (CLA) has reached a major organisational milestone, officially signing a direct Social Investment Project Contract with BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA).
Every child deserves a strong start to their learning. Victoria’s landmark universal three-year-old kindergarten reform is delivering just that. New findings from a major study at University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Education have revealed that children who receive two years of funded kindergarten compared to one year have an additional five-months of progress in language development and two to three-months of progress in memory and problem-solving skills by the time they begin school.
New data from Be You, Beyond Blue's mental health in education initiative, reveals that educators are becoming more confident in supporting everyday mental health concerns, but less confident their schools and early learning services are prepared to respond to critical incidents.
Early childhood and primary teacher, children’s author, and literacy advocate Poppy Yayakos has joined the World Literacy Foundation’s Sun Books: Global Children’s Library as an Author Patron, expanding her commitment to literacy that already reaches families throughout her community in Darwin, Australia.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has placed childcare reform firmly on the Coalition's policy agenda, arguing Australia's current system needs greater flexibility and choice to better reflect the different ways families work and care for their children.
More than 1,300 early childhood education and care (ECEC) services have received unannounced visits from Australian Government officers since the national spot-check program began in November 2025, as the Commonwealth increases its compliance presence across the sector.
Scheduled to open in early 2028, the centre will be delivered through a partnership between the Victorian Government, Deakin University, South West TAFE and Warrnambool City Council.
Singapore has unveiled plans to dramatically reduce childcare and infant care fees by 2030, while expanding the number of government-supported preschool places, a reform that provides an interesting comparison as Australia continues its own journey towards universal early childhood education and care.
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