Why Australia is talking about an Early Education and Care Commission
Australia's education ministers have committed to exploring a national Early Education and Care Commission. It's a big idea, and it deserves a proper conversation.
In this episode of conTEXT, Dr Caroline Croser-Barlow, CEO of The Front Project, sits down with Amy Graham from Minderoo Foundation's Communities team to unpack what a Commission is, what problem it actually solves, and what it could mean for children, families and educators across the country.
Why now?
Right now, early education and care in Australia is funded, regulated and delivered by different parts of government, working separately. Everyone involved is doing their part. Nobody holds the whole picture.
A Commission wouldn't replace any of that work. It would give someone the job of looking across the whole system, understanding what's working, and helping government act on it.
The educator workforce
Every parent knows the value of a familiar face at drop-off. That relationship between a child and their educator takes time to build, and it matters for how children learn and grow.
At the moment, no single body tracks why educators leave the sector, where shortages are worst, or what helps good educators stay. A Commission could take on that work, bringing together government, universities and training providers to build a stronger, more stable workforce.
Safety and quality, together
Safety measures like staff registers, service checks and CCTV are important, and relatively straightforward to put in place and monitor. Quality, the warmth and consistency a child experiences day to day, is harder to measure and often receives less sustained attention as a result.
Australia already has a strong foundation to build on. The National Quality Standard shows 92% of services now meeting or exceeding benchmark, up from 80% a decade ago, and the Australian Early Development Census tracks child development at school entry every three years.
What's missing is a body that treats safety and quality as one connected system rather than two separate compliance exercises, and that uses the data already being collected to actively lift outcomes.
What it means for families
Families aren't thinking about departments or funding structures. They want to know their child is safe, settled and cared for, and that the system behind that care can be trusted.
At the moment, that trust has to be taken on faith. Funding sits with the Commonwealth, regulation is shared across jurisdictions, and preschool delivery sits with states and territories.
Improving women's workforce participation to Nordic levels alone is estimated to be worth around $132 billion a year to the Australian economy, much of which depends on families being able to trust and access quality early education.