Statement on the Albanese Government's commitment to building a universal early learning system in Australia

UNICEF Australia welcomes Prime Minister Albanese’s commitment to building a universal early learning system in Australia. In particular, the abolishment of the activity test, and guaranteeing three days of subsidised childcare for all families earning less than $530,000 a year will be a game changer. Removal of this test will ensure greater access to Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) for families already experiencing disadvantage or exclusion, including low-income families, First Nations families, single parents and families for non-English speaking backgrounds.

We also welcome the Government’s $1 billion Building Early Education Fund, also announced today, that will help to build and expand more ECEC centres in areas of need.

We know that investment in ECEC will provide huge dividends for children and their families in the future. ECEC offers children the best start in life by helping them to learn, form healthy relationships, increase their independence, and assist with the transition to school. Participating in ECEC helps shift trajectories for children, particularly those experiencing vulnerability and disadvantage, placing them on a pathway to healthy development and wellbeing which grows exponentially over their lifetime with the right support.

These key reforms align with calls made for many years by leading experts in the sector, including UNICEF Australia. It is another positive step following the wage increase for ECEC workers announced earlier this year that will ultimately benefit children in Australia.

This commitment puts Australia on a path towards a quality universal ECEC system. We look forward to the development of an Early Education Service Delivery Price to underpin future reform. We hope this will lead to further changes that we know will ease cost-of-living pressures on families and make it easier to access ECEC. This includes implementing all recommendations from the Productivity Commission’s report, A path to universal early childhood education and care, released earlier this year, such as:

• raising the maximum rate of the Childcare Subsidy to 100% of the hourly rate cap for families on incomes under $80,000, and
• raising the higher Child Care Subsidy rate to 100% for families with multiple children aged under 5 in ECEC and with incomes under $140,000.

We also know it is critical to address broader affordability barriers for children from low-income families. One of these barriers often comes in the first weeks of a child’s life – a birth certificate.

A birth certificate is a vital document that allows children to enrol in ECEC, yet from 2017 to 2022 more than 75,000 babies did not have their births registered in their first year of life. UNICEF Australia has recently released our Certify Hope – Rights from the Start report which provides a roadmap towards universal birth registration in Australia.

We look forward to working with the Albanese Government and States and Territories to ensure that birth certificates are affordable and accessible to continue to help increase access to quality ECEC.

Together, universal ECEC and universal birth registration can positively shape the future of all children in Australia. Increased access to quality and affordable early learning for families will ensure all children have the opportunity to thrive and make the most of their potential.

11 December 2024