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Medium and small provider data collection begins for national ECEC pricing project

Article

Fiona Alston

May 13, 2026

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Data collection has commenced for medium and small early childhood education and care (ECEC) providers as part of the Australian Government’s Early Education Service Delivery Prices project.

The national project is designed to build a clearer, evidence-based picture of the costs involved in delivering safe, quality ECEC across Australia, with findings expected to inform future government decisions on the path toward a more universal and affordable early learning system.

Deloitte Access Economics is supporting the Department of Education to conduct the research, in consultation with ECEC providers and services, sector peaks and all levels of government.

All Child Care Subsidy approved providers have been invited to participate through a secure online portal. Participation may include completing a short qualitative survey, providing financial and other documents, or, for some services, taking part in more detailed consultation to explore cost drivers.

The Department has said the project will also gather perspectives from educators, parents and carers to better understand views on quality, cost and value.

Information collected through the project will be used to analyse how and why costs vary across the sector, and to develop a dataset and model to inform the development of service delivery prices.

Why this matters for the sector

For medium and small providers, the project represents an important opportunity to ensure the economics of service delivery are properly understood.

Operating costs across ECEC are shaped by multiple factors, including workforce expenditure, occupancy, rent or mortgage costs, insurance, utilities, consumables, inclusion support, regulatory requirements and local market conditions.

These pressures can look very different for a single-site provider, a community-based service, a family day care provider, an outside school hours care provider or a medium-sized organisation operating across several locations.

A national pricing project that includes providers of different sizes and models may help create a more accurate picture of what it takes to deliver quality early education and care in practice.

A shift toward evidence-based policy

The project comes as governments continue to consider broader reforms linked to affordability, accessibility, workforce sustainability and the future shape of Australia’s ECEC system.

While the data collection itself does not change current funding settings, it is likely to contribute to future policy conversations about how services are funded, how affordability is understood, and how quality and cost are balanced across different communities.

For providers, this means accurate, well-prepared data matters.

Financial and operational information submitted through the project may help government better understand the real cost drivers behind service delivery, particularly for providers that may not have the scale, margins or administrative infrastructure of larger operators.

What providers should consider now

Medium and small providers participating in the project may wish to review the accuracy and completeness of their financial and operational data, including fee structures, staffing costs, occupancy patterns, enrolment mix and service-level operating expenses.

It may also be useful for providers to consider how they explain fee decisions to families, particularly in an environment where affordability and value are receiving increasing public and policy attention.

Clear communication about staffing, quality, inclusion, facilities, resources and service sustainability can help families better understand the relationship between fees and the cost of delivering education and care.

Data collection runs until August

Data collection for small and medium providers will run until August 2026.

Further information about the Early Education Service Delivery Prices project is available from the Australian Government Department of Education website.

And learn more about the Early Education Service Delivery Prices project here.

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