Early Learning & Care Council of Australia

ELACCA wants all children in Australia to have access to inclusive, high-quality early learning and care, delivered by a skilled, valued workforce.

We promote the value of high-quality early learning and care for all Australian children, irrespective of their or their family’s circumstances.

We do this by drawing on the knowledge, data and experience of our members, contributing to the development of evidence based public policy for the sector.

We help our members to support their workforces, because skilled and experienced educators are essential for high-quality early learning and care.

We seek to co-create with governments a strong, sustainable early learning and care system that can support all children and families across Australia, for education, development and workforce participation outcomes.

ELACCA’s members are the Chief Executive Officers of some of Australia’s largest providers of early learning and care, both not-for-profit and for profit. ELACCA members operate a total of 2,387 services, including 2,019 long day care services, 298 preschool/kindergarten services and 70 OSHC services, covering every state and territory.

Our members offer one-quarter of all the long day care and preschool/kindergarten places in Australia. Together, our members serve 356,339 children and their families, and employ more than 57,382 staff.

The Australian early learning environment provides children with the tools they need to develop emotional, social and cognitive skills to become lifelong learners. ELACCA aims to:

• Progress the quality of early learning and care and outcomes.
• Enhance the development and professionalisation of the early learning workforce.
• Improve equity of access to early learning for all children, particularly those in vulnerable circumstances.

Check out our latest news to learn more about ELACCA.

The nationally approved Australian early learning framework for children from birth to five years of age is “Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (EYLF).” The curriculum supports early childhood education in promoting each child’s early learning, wellbeing, and development.

A skilled and stable workforce of qualified educators is the single most important contributor to high quality in early learning environments. Children’s early learning experiences are nurtured by warm, trusting relationships in a stable environment.  Accordingly, quality early education providers develop teams of educators who support each other and engage in regular planning and professional learning.

Quality early learning providers also use resources that contribute to the child’s learning and development. The physical indoor and outdoor spaces provide:

• A sense of belonging;
• Emotional security;
• Safe risk-taking opportunities;
• Challenges;
• Stimulating resources, materials and learning experiences that accommodate all children’s needs, interests and abilities.

Early childhood education and care services are required to implement the EYLF (or an equivalent framework) if they are approved by the national regulator and are working with children in the birth to five-years age group.

The EYLF builds on the idea that children’s lives are defined by belonging, being and becoming. Early childhood educators play a powerful role in supporting children to:

• belong in their early learning setting, feeling valued, connected and confident;
• be in the present, ‘engaging with life’s joys and complexities, and meeting challenges in everyday life’; and
• become active learners and engaged citizens, as they move towards their school years and their place in the world.

Visit our Big Roles in Little Lives pages to see if early childhood educator is the right career fit for you.