CEO & Board
CEO
Dr Amanda Walsh has been our CEO since June 2026. Amanda began her career as a diplomat, before moving into policy and advisory roles. When her children were very young, she became a freelance writer. An article she wrote a for parenting magazine sparked an enduring interest in early childhood education. She entered the early years sector in 2013, and has since worked for organisations including Early Childhood Australia and Playgroup Australia.
Amanda has a long association with the Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA), working in policy, projects and partnerships roles.
Amanda has a PhD in political economy and political science, and has written for a range of publications, including The Conversation and Inside Story. She is the author of Globalisation, the state and regional Australia (Sydney University Press, 2018)
Board
What we do
ELACCA works to create a strong, sustainable and effective early learning and care system in Australia.
We place children’s safety at the centre of our work, because it is non-negotiable.
We draw together the knowledge, data and experience of our members, because evidence is vital for good public policy.
We help our members to support their workforces, because skilled and experienced educators are essential for high-quality early learning and care.
We benchmark the performance of our members, because it fosters continuous improvement, enabling change at scale.
We seek to co-create with governments an early learning and care system that can reliably support all children and families, whatever their circumstances, because that is what children and families deserve.