Fraser Foundation invests $160,000 in Australia’s next generation of early childhood teachers 

The Fraser Foundation has committed more than $160,000 to aspiring early childhood teachers across five states and territories in its latest scholarship round, approving funding for more than 80 per cent of applicants. 

The mid-year allocation takes the independent charity’s total investment in future early childhood teachers to more than $670,000 since 2021, as it continues to remove financial barriers to qualification amid Australia’s ongoing workforce shortage. 

Founder Jae Fraser said the result reflected both the strength of the applicants and the Foundation’s commitment to directly addressing Australia’s early childhood teacher shortage. 

“We didn’t establish the Fraser Foundation simply to talk about the workforce shortage. We established it to help create more passionate and committed early childhood teachers,” Mr Fraser said. “That means approving strong applications, removing financial barriers and putting funding directly towards people’s study.” 

“When the applications in front of us demonstrate genuine commitment and clear potential, our job is to support them.” 

The July round also marked a significant expansion in the Foundation’s national reach, with applications received from South Australia, regional Western Australia, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, and regional Queensland. 

Mr Fraser said the geographic spread demonstrated the growing need for practical workforce support across metropolitan, regional and remote communities. 

“The early childhood workforce shortage is not confined to one city or one state. It is a national challenge, and it is often felt most acutely in regional and remote communities where attracting and retaining degree-qualified teachers can be particularly difficult,” he said. 

“Seeing applications from the more remote areas such as regional Western Australia and regional Queensland, tells us the Foundation is beginning to reach more of the educators and communities it was created to support.”

The scholarships support aspiring Early Childhood Teachers undertaking Bachelor and Graduate Diploma qualifications, helping to cover course fees. 

The latest funding round brings the total number of Fraser Foundation ECT scholarship recipients to almost 60. A further 180 educators have been supported to complete a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care through the Foundation’s partnership with the College for Australian Early Childhood Educators. 

Established in 2021 through a $2 million, five-year commitment, the Fraser Foundation is an independent registered charity founded by Mr Fraser, who also owns and operates the Little Scholars School of Early Learning group across South East Queensland. 

The Foundation supports the early childhood sector through scholarships, training, research and advocacy. Its initiatives include the Diploma Supported Program, Research Impact Grant, Gundoo Project and a free national professional development webinar series, which regularly attracts thousands of educators. 

It is also currently conducting the national Voice of the Educator Survey, designed to capture educators’ experiences and provide a clearer picture of the pressures, priorities and opportunities shaping the early childhood workforce. 

Mr Fraser said strengthening the pipeline of qualified Early Childhood Teachers remained one of the sector’s most urgent structural challenges. 

“Every person supported through these scholarships will go on to influence the learning, development and wellbeing of hundreds, and potentially thousands, of children,” he said. “What we do today, and how we educate and care for children, directly shapes the future. That is why we are committed to turning funding into tangible opportunities for educators.” 

Applications for the Fraser Foundation’s next quarterly scholarship round are now open at thefraserfoundation.com.au.