19 November 2025
Anne brings a wealth of experience, vision, and dedication from 28 years of senior leadership across government and non-government sectors, with a distinguished career dedicated to improving outcomes for children and families. Anne recently completed her term as Australia’s National Children’s Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission. In her previous CEO roles, Anne provided advice to governments and led research, policy and practice in education, health and social services, including as a provider of early childhood education and family support services.
Throughout her career, Anne has championed evidence-based policy and systems reform and has been a strong advocate for the safety and wellbeing of children and their families.
“I am honoured to join ELACCA at such a pivotal time for the early learning and care sector in Australia. Every child deserves access to high-quality education and care, and I look forward to working with our members, partners, and governments to strengthen the sector and make the safety, rights and wellbeing of children our priority nationwide.” — Anne Hollonds, CEO, ELACCA
“Anne’s leadership will be instrumental in guiding ELACCA through the next chapter of our journey, as we continue to advocate for quality early learning for all children across Australia. We are confident that Anne’s strategic insight and collaborative spirit will strengthen our partnerships, amplify our voice in policy discussions, and support our members in delivering quality education and care.
We thank Sally Maddison for leading ELACCA as Acting CEO, and look forward to Anne’s leadership as ELACCA continues to champion quality early learning and care for every Australian child.
Anne will commence at ELACCA on Monday 24 November 2025.”
Pejman Okhovat and Kay Turner, ELACCA Co-chairs
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Early Learning and Care Council of Australia
PO Box 348
Annandale NSW 2038
About us:
The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) was established to promote the value of quality early learning and care as an integral part of Australia’s education system. Our 17 CEO members include some of the largest early learning providers in the country, representing both not-for-profit and for-profit services. ELACCA members operate 1,947 long day care services, 297 preschool/kindergarten services and 77 OSHC services, covering every state and territory. They offer one-quarter of all the early learning places in Australia. Together, our members serve 356,339 children and their families, and employ more than 57,000 staff.
As well as promoting the value of quality early learning and the need for greater public investment, ELACCA advocates for the right of all children to access quality early learning and care, particularly children facing disadvantage. We do this by drawing on the knowledge and practical experience of our members and representing their views to decision makers in government, the media and the public.