The 2025 financial year has marked a complex and defining period for Australia’s early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector. The FY25 results and strategic repositioning of G8 Education, Australia’s largest ASX-listed provider, operating 395 centres, offer a clear signal to commercial investors, approved providers, large operators and policymakers about the pressures reshaping the operating environment.
In every early childhood setting, culture and language are far more than “add‑ons” to programming, they are powerful foundations for identity, connection and inclusion. What children experience in their early years shapes how they see themselves, how they learn, and how they relate to others. Yet too often, cultural celebration is treated as a token activity rather than a lived, everyday part of learning.
Water safety remains at the forefront of national concern, as drowning continues to be the leading cause of accidental death for children aged 0-4.
More than 100 regulatory officers conducted unannounced inspections at over 220 early learning services in a single-day compliance operation, as the NSW Early Learning Commission intensifies oversight across the sector.
In February the Western Australian State Administrative Tribunal handled two separate disciplinary proceedings brought by the CEO of the Department of Communities against out-of-school-hours care (OSHC) providers. Both cases highlight critical failures in active supervision, particularly concerning highly vulnerable children diagnosed with autism who managed to wander away from their respective services unnoticed.
There is a growing number of “serious incidents” in Australian early childhood services, including day cares.
Sparrow Nest Early Learning No 4 Pty Ltd, the approved provider of Sparrow Early Learning Yarrabilba, has been fined $20,000 following a successful prosecution relating to supervision and child safety failures.
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