ELACCA welcomes MYEFO as a welcome step forward for children with additional needs

The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) has welcomed a recent decision by the Australian Government to invest more in the early learning education and care (ECEC) sector, enabling providers to increase their support for children with additional needs and offer better conditions of service to their educators.

Announced as part of the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO), the measures acknowledge the fundamental importance of ECEC services in supporting all children, and the profound need to recognise and reward educators for their work, ELACCA CEO Elizabeth Death said, and represent “a much-needed step” in addressing underfunding of the Inclusion Support Program (ISP). 

The ISP, Ms Death continued, is critical to boost the capacity of early learning and care services to fully include children with additional needs.

The announcement also allows early childhood educators who are parents to receive greater benefit from fee discounts offered by their employers, as part of their employment conditions. Until now, ChildCare Subsidy rules have curtailed the fee discounts offered by employers to educators who have their own children enrolled in early learning and care services.

“We are delighted that employers in the early learning and care sector will now be able to offer more financial support to their educators and support staff, via larger fee reductions,” Ms Death said. 

“Building and sustaining the educator workforce is something that our members take very seriously, and we welcome initiatives that support their efforts and provide direct financial benefit to employees.”