Australia’s Inclusion Support Program is a gem, ensuring children, who would otherwise be left out, can join early learning  

Ten years ago today the Australian Government revamped the Inclusion Support Program for children  with additional needs, over that time it has ensured that more than 150,000 children could join their local  early learning centre, changing the lives of every child in their kindy or early education room. 

The program reforms were recommended by a Productivity Commission Inquiry in 2013 and supported by the then Coalition Government in 2015 and took effect a year later. 

The number of children supported by the program with an Additional Educator has more than doubled  from 10,400 in 2016-17 to over 26,000 in 2025-26. This in turn reflected the doubling of the number of  children with a disability or additional need in childcare - from 22,000 in 2014 to over 45,500 by 2024. 

Goodstart Early Learning’s Chief Impact Officer Myra Geddes said the program had been a huge  success as it makes a big difference to children’s lives. 

“Inclusion support educators ensure every child, including children with additional needs, are fully  engaged in early learning centre’s programs,” she said. 

“The evidence is clear that early intervention to support children’s learning when they face additional  challenges is far more effective and less costly than trying to address these issues when they start school. 

“This vital program deserves continuing and increased financial support with the clear benefits of the  program identified by multiple reviews and a doubling in the number of children assessed as needing  extra support. 

“We also welcomed top-up funding of $54.8M announced in the Federal Government’s budget. This  investment is necessary as the base funding for the program and wage subsidy rate has not increased in  a decade. 

“A decade ago the wage subsidy fully covered costs, but now it covers only around 68% which means  early learning centres must cross subside the cost of additional educators to support children who need  more support. 

“The Productivity Commission called for an urgent increase in funding for Inclusion Support so that all  children could fully participate in early learning. It also called for a shift to a new funding approach that  would better align funding to the needs of children, which we also support. 

“Today we can celebrate the support that the Inclusion Support Program has provided for over 150,000  children in the past decade, while committing to ensure that children with additional needs get the  support they need to participate in early learning over the next decade,” she said. 

10 years of the Inclusion Support Program by the numbers 

¹Estimate for each year based on the National ECEC Workforce Census, 2016, 2021 and 2024_.

 ²Funding excludes one  off top-ups of various amounts provided annually by the Australian Government since 2021. 

³Cert III qualified level 3.3 plus super.