The state of early learning in Australia must improve to ensure our youngest Australians get the best possible start in life. As part of the Early Learning: Everyone Benefits campaign, the State of early learning in Australia 2017 is the second report in a series tracking progress across a range of different early childhood education and care (ECEC) outcome measures.

This report has built on the inaugural State of early learning in Australia report 2016 (ECA, 2016) and, where possible, has reflected on trends emerging in the data from this baseline. It takes a closer look at how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and those from disadvantaged backgrounds are faring, and examines progress made through the National Partnership Agreement on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education (COAG, 2009b, 2013, 2015, 2016).

We hope to celebrate the successes of jurisdictions in improving the quality, participation and affordability of early learning, and the ultimate goal of improving children’s developmental outcomes.

The State of early learning in Australia 2017:

• provides a high-level snapshot of quality, participation and investment in ECEC in Australia
• highlights areas of improvement by state and territory governments and the Commonwealth ƒ expands upon existing datasets already publicly available
• brings together existing public data in a short and accessible format.

Data presented in this report is drawn from the latest information available, where available. It is important to note that not all datasets are directly comparable.