In December 2009 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to a unified National Quality Framework (NQF) for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The quality reforms—which include clear standards, streamlined regulatory approaches, an assessment and rating system and a national learning framework—are being implemented over the period 2012 to 2020 as an initiative of...

This report presents an evaluation of a school readiness program for Aboriginal children with additional needs, assessing the benefits for the children, their families and communities as well as local service providers. The outcomes of the evaluation may be useful when considering future service models to support Aboriginal families of children with disabilities, developmental delay...

This audit assessed the effectiveness of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations' role in the delivery of the Children and Family Centre component of the National Partnership Agreement on Indigenous Early Childhood Development. Overall conclusion: The establishment of Children and Family Centres (CFCs) was intended by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to...

The aim of this paper is to provide an updated description of the level of participation of Indigenous children in early childhood education, as well as an analysis of the differences in outcomes between those children who do and do not attend. The five main conclusions from the census analysis are that: there has been...

This Snapshot is the first of what will be a regular quarterly update on the children’s education and care sector in Australia. This report is released to coincide with the publication of the national registers of providers, services and holders of supervisor certificates. The register of services marks the start of reporting on the quality...