Child and family policies are developing and expanding in dynamic ways around the world, despite the fiscal austerity that enveloped many countries in the wake of the global financial crisis. However, Australia’s early childhood care polices are in desperate need of reform. The childcare debate needs to re-set, and this paper hopes to provide some...

Education is a key influence on a child’s life. It can assist them to realise their full potential and make positive, informed choices. While there have been improvements in some educational outcomes, Aboriginal students continue to be the most educationally disadvantaged student group in Australia. On average, Aboriginal students have lower levels of school attendance...

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare developed a national data standards strategy and implementation plan to enhance the comparability, quality and coherence of information across the Australian education and training sectors, including early childhood education, school education, vocational education and training (VET) and higher education. This project report summarises the activities and process undertaken...

Presents information about the types of child care used by children in Australia, highlighting how arrangements change as children grow, and how they vary for families of different characteristics. Summary Child care and early childhood education hold a key place in the wellbeing of families and their local communities. They provide key opportunities for children's...

The NQF Snapshot Q1 2015 is ACECQA’s ninth national report on children’s education and care services. The data presented in this Snapshot was taken from the National Quality Agenda IT System (NQA ITS) on 1 April 2015 for the quarter ending 31 March 2015. To demonstrate change over time, the data is compared with data...