Feature Article Archives - ELACCA https://elacca.org.au/category/feature-article/ Elacca Thu, 27 Apr 2023 05:43:01 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 https://elacca.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/ELACCA_Master-Logo_RGB_REV-1-2-1.png Feature Article Archives - ELACCA https://elacca.org.au/category/feature-article/ 32 32 Free and Low-fee Kinder in VIC is a Winner for Families https://elacca.org.au/free-and-low-fee-kinder-in-vic-is-a-winner-for-families/ Tue, 10 Nov 2020 04:36:13 +0000 http://elacca.local/?p=971 Media release 10 November 2020 Free and low-fee kinder in Victoria is a winner for families, employers and children The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) applauds the Victorian Government’s decision to deliver free and low-fee early learning for all three- and four-year-olds in 2021. ‘Increased public investment in early learning is precisely...

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10 November 2020

Free and low-fee kinder in Victoria is a winner for families, employers and children

The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) applauds the Victorian Government’s decision to deliver free and low-fee early learning for all three- and four-year-olds in 2021.

‘Increased public investment in early learning is precisely the right policy for the times,’ said Elizabeth Death, CEO of ELACCA.

‘Boosting early learning funding will help to deliver the “triple dividend” that we need.’

‘For parents, this means affordable care that enables them to work; for employers, the policy generates a greater pool of willing employees.’

‘Most importantly, greater funding gives children better access to a quality early learning program, delivered by a qualified early childhood teacher, which sets them up for a life of learning and achievement.’

The Victorian Government’s additional funding for early learning will apply to both standalone (sessional) kindergarten programs and kindergarten programs delivered in long day care settings. Both types of program are delivered by qualified teachers.

‘The new Victorian investment also highlights the variation in early learning funding and access across Australia,’ Ms Death said.

‘The NSW Government took a big step in the right direction last weekend, when it announced free sessional preschool for 2021. We encourage NSW to follow the Victorian Government’s lead by extending additional funding to preschool programs delivered by qualified teachers in long day settings.’

‘To shift the dial for Australia’s youngest learners, parents and carers must be able to access affordable early learning across all service types,’ said Ms Death.

‘This is precisely why Australia needs a new national agreement on preschool and kinder, to get the Commonwealth, states and territories on the same page and ensure the best outcomes for all Australian children.’

Ends

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]]> Affordable early learning must sit at the heart of the next Budget https://elacca.org.au/affordable-early-learning-must-sit-at-the-heart-of-the-next-budget/ Wed, 07 Oct 2020 00:14:20 +0000 http://elacca.local/?p=961 Media release 7 October 2020 Affordable early learning must sit at the heart of the next Budget With no new measures announced in last night’s Budget, Australia’s early learning and care sector and its allies will keep advocating for increased investment to support young children’s learning and women’s workforce participation. ‘We applaud the Government’s commitment...

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7 October 2020

Affordable early learning must sit at the heart of the next Budget

With no new measures announced in last night’s Budget, Australia’s early learning and care sector and its allies will keep advocating for increased investment to support young children’s learning and women’s workforce participation.

‘We applaud the Government’s commitment to ensuring that early learning and care services could survive the COVID-19 pandemic,’ said Elizabeth Death, CEO of the Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA). ‘The Government’s financial support for sector viability was absolutely critical and valued.’

‘However, we now need to turn our attention to the important role of early learning and care in the recovery and rebuilding, for the whole country,’ Ms Death said.

‘Greater investment in early learning is one of the best ways to boost Australia’s social capital and household earnings with the double-dividend of lifelong education, health and wellbeing benefits for children.’

The benefits of raising the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) rate have been highlighted in recent research by KPMG and the Grattan Institute, which both found that greater financial support for families through the CCS would generate substantial benefits across the economy.

According to KPMG, if the CCS rate was lifted to 95 per cent for low-income families (and 30 per cent for high-income families), the boost to GDP would exceed the additional federal spending by more than 110 percent, thanks to a lift in parental workforce participation.

‘We had hoped that the 2020-21 Budget would seize this opportunity to support children and families through more significant reform of the Child Care Subsidy,’ said Ms Death.

‘ELACCA stands ready to work with the Government to ensure that early learning is at the heart of the 2021-22 Budget.’

Ends

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]]> Welcome support for early learning and care in Victoria, as the sector hopes for recovery https://elacca.org.au/welcome-support-for-early-learning-and-care-in-victoria-as-the-sector-hopes-for-recovery/ Mon, 21 Sep 2020 06:53:48 +0000 http://elacca.local/?p=943 Media release 20 September 2020   ELACCA welcomes support for early learning and care in Victoria as the sector hopes for recovery:   Ongoing government support for Victorian early learning and care services, including outside school hours care services, will safeguard the sector as it emerges from COVID-19 restrictions.   The Early Learning and Care...

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20 September 2020
 
ELACCA welcomes support for early learning and care in Victoria as the sector hopes for recovery:
 
Ongoing government support for Victorian early learning and care services, including outside school hours care services, will safeguard the sector as it emerges from COVID-19 restrictions.
 
The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) welcomes today’s announcement by the Australian Government that a new recovery payment will apply in Victoria until 31 January 2021, enabling early learning and care services to catch up with the rest of Australia.
 
“Experts note that the extensive lockdown in Melbourne, and the ripple effects throughout Victoria, will continue to affect the economy for some time. To have the Victorian early learning and care sector supported over the next few months is a critical element of the economic recovery,” said ELACCA CEO, Elizabeth Death.
 
“ELACCA also welcomes the extension of the easing of the activity test until 4 April 2021 which will support access to early learning for children whose families have lost income or hours of work due to the pandemic.”
 
“We want young children and their families to have ongoing access to viable, high-quality education and care as Australia emerges from the pandemic and the recession,” Ms Death said.
 
“We think the activity test easing will be required until at least April – and probably further into 2021,” she said.
 
“There are also additional steps the government could take to support families and children, such as increasing the Child Care Subsidy and allowing extra preschool hours for children starting school next year. These merit serious consideration ahead of the Federal Budget.”
 
ELACCA notes that early learning and care services outside Victoria will return to the pre-COVID funding system on 28 September.
 
“We very much hope that further outbreaks of COVID-19 can be avoided, but we need to prepare for the worst. ELACCA urges all governments to be prepared to act swiftly to support the early learning and care sector, in ‘hot spots’ or entire regions, should the need arise,” said Ms Death.
 
ELACCA will continue to work cooperatively with the government to ensure that early learning and care services remain viable and accessible for Australian families. Ends

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]]> Boosting economic growth and family wellbeing with carefully targeted federal reform https://elacca.org.au/boosting-economic-growth-and-family-wellbeing-with-carefully-targeted-federal-reform/ Mon, 07 Sep 2020 02:52:50 +0000 http://elacca.local/?p=936 Media Release 7 September 2020 Boosting economic growth and family wellbeing with carefully targeted federal reform A new study by KPMG provides a simple blueprint for kickstarting the Australian economy and increasing economic security and educational opportunities for Australian families. The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) welcomes today’s report from KPMG, The...

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7 September 2020

Boosting economic growth and family wellbeing with carefully targeted federal reform

A new study by KPMG provides a simple blueprint for kickstarting the Australian economy and increasing economic security and educational opportunities for Australian families.

The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) welcomes today’s report from KPMG, The child care subsidy: Options for increasing support for caregivers who want to work.

‘We see real merit in the KPMG proposal to lift the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) rate to 95 per cent for low income households, with the subsidy tapering down to a new higher minimum of 30 per cent for high income families,’ said ELACCA CEO Elizabeth Death.

‘At the moment, too many families – and particularly women – are finding their careers and income constrained by the unintended effects of the CCS system.  Many women have indicated that it’s simply not worth taking on extra days or shifts, because parents lose other government payments or find the net cost of additional early learning and care too high.’

The carefully targeted change to the CCS proposed by KPMG (Option 2) would generate an extraordinary dividend for the national economy. According to the modelling, the boost to GDP would exceed the additional federal spending by more than 110 percent, thanks to a boost in parental workforce participation.

‘Right now, many children are also potentially missing out on early learning and care because the subsidy system deters some families from enrolling their children, or from increasing their early learning days over time,’ Ms Death said.

‘The evidence tells us that children who have participated in early learning and care arrive at school far more prepared to engage and thrive. We should ensure this benefit is available to all children.

‘The policy architecture of Australia’s early learning and care system is essentially sound. The KPMG report shows that, with minor changes and limited additional investment, the government can achieve a huge win for families and the economy, at a time of real challenge for the nation.’

View and download KMPG full report here

 

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]]> ELACCA welcomes additional support from Federal Government for Victorian early learning services https://elacca.org.au/elacca-welcomes-additional-support-from-federal-government-for-victorian-early-learning-services/ Wed, 05 Aug 2020 04:31:20 +0000 http://elacca.local/?p=932 5 August 2020 MEDIA RELEASE  ELACCA welcomes additional support from Federal Government for Victorian early learning services The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) welcomes the Australian Government’s announcement of initiatives that continue to support the early learning workforce, children, families and providers as Victoria deals with the impacts of COVID-19. ELACCA CEO,...

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MEDIA RELEASE 

ELACCA welcomes additional support from Federal Government for Victorian early learning services

The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) welcomes the Australian Government’s announcement of initiatives that continue to support the early learning workforce, children, families and providers as Victoria deals with the impacts of COVID-19.

ELACCA CEO, Elizabeth Death said, the Australian Government has reinforced the critical and essential role the early learning and care sector plays in our communities and how important the sector is to enable children, families, and the economy to respond to, and recover from, the impacts of the pandemic.

“Families can be reassured that children of permitted workers, those experiencing vulnerability or others as defined by the Victorian Government will be able to maintain continuity of education and care with their familiar and valued teachers. Quality providers will offer all other children unable to attend with ‘learning from home’ support.

“The Australian Government’s Victorian support package maintains the employment guarantee for the workforce across every provider.

“This sector wide result was not realised under JobKeeper which was not able to be uniformly applied across the early learning sector,” Ms Death said.

“Providers will receive additional payments to remain open, retain their workforce and be ready to open up to full capacity post the Victorian COVID-19 shutdown.

“The 25 per cent Transition Payment that currently delivers cash flow support to providers will be increased to 30 per cent for the next six weeks while Melbourne is in Stage 4 lockdown.

“Special provisions will also be in place for services experiencing exceptional circumstances.

“Allowable absences have been increased, providing an additional 30 days to all families across Victoria for the duration of lockdown. This ensures families can maintain their child’s enrolment without fear of losing CCS for absences.

“Families attending under lockdown will continue to pay their normal fees. Families unable to attend are assured of maintaining their enrolment without penalty for absences and at no cost, based on their provider waiving their gap fees.

“ELACCA members are committed to maintaining their highly qualified early years workforce and appreciate that the increased Transition Payment in concert with CCS will enable all providers to maintain their services to Victorian families for the duration of the lockdown period.“

Ends

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]]> THE SECTOR – Early Education News Views and Reviews https://elacca.org.au/the-sector-early-education-news/ Wed, 24 Jun 2020 01:48:30 +0000 http://elacca.local/?p=923 Peak body ELACCA pivots towards innovation in newly released five year Strategic Plan The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) has released a new strategic plan which provides details of the organisation’s key objectives and areas of focus for the next five years, as well as highlighting a new ‘pivot to innovation’ designed to capture...

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]]> Peak body ELACCA pivots towards innovation in newly released five year Strategic Plan

The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) has released a new strategic plan which provides details of the organisation’s key objectives and areas of focus for the next five years, as well as highlighting a new ‘pivot to innovation’ designed to capture the benefit of contemporary thinking, evidence and strategy development to improve outcomes for children and those that educate and care for them.

Click to see more

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]]> Prime Minister’s News – Early Childhood Education Relief Package https://elacca.org.au/prime-ministers-news-early-childhood-education-relief-package/ Thu, 02 Apr 2020 05:57:29 +0000 http://elacca.local/?p=860 MEDIA RELEASE 02 Apr 2020 Prime Minister, Minister for Education Around one million families are set to receive free child care during the coronavirus pandemic under a plan from the Morrison Government that will help deliver hip pocket relief and help the early childhood education and care sector make it through to the other side...

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MEDIA RELEASE
02 Apr 2020
Prime Minister, Minister for Education
Around one million families are set to receive free child care during the coronavirus pandemic under a plan from the Morrison Government that will help deliver hip pocket relief and help the early childhood education and care sector make it through to the other side of this crisis.

Under the plan, the Government will pay 50 per cent of the sector’s fee revenue up to the existing hourly rate cap based on a point in time before parents started withdrawing their children in large numbers, but only so long as services remain open and do not charge families for care. The funding will apply from 6 April based on the number of children who were in care during the fortnight leading into 2 March, whether or not they are attending services.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the plan supports families while also ensuring as many of the sector’s 13,000 child care and early learning services as possible could keep their doors open for workers and vulnerable families who need those services.

For details click here:

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]]> The Cost of Late Intervention https://elacca.org.au/the-cost-of-late-intervention/ Thu, 13 Feb 2020 23:34:00 +0000 https://stage.techniqueinteractive.com.au/elacca/?p=730 How Australia can invest in children and return more presents the opportunity for wise investments in evidence-based early intervention to radically change outcomes for Australian children and young people. This report reveals that Australian governments are spending $15.2 billion each year on high-intensity and crisis services for problems that may have been prevented had we...

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]]> How Australia can invest in children and return more presents the opportunity for wise investments in evidence-based early intervention to radically change outcomes for Australian children and young people.

This report reveals that Australian governments are spending $15.2 billion each year on high-intensity and crisis services for problems that may have been prevented had we invested earlier and more wisely.

How Australia can invest in children and return more is one of the first Australian studies to analyse the cost of intervening late in areas that affect children and young people’s quality of life.

The report provides a baseline analysis of late intervention spending in Australia. It uses publicly available Australian data to calculate annual government expenditure on late intervention services for children and young people aged 0-24.

The partnership that delivered the report was initiated by CoLab – Collaborate for Kids (a partnership of the Minderoo Foundation and Telethon Kids Institute). The analysis was led by the Early Intervention Foundation and co-authored with The Front Project. It draws on the Early Intervention Foundation’s method and approach to measuring the cost of late intervention in England and Wales.

Downloads

Download the summary report

Download the full report

Information for Government

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