Submission to the Productivity Commission
On 23 May 2023 the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia made a submission to the Productivity Commission inquiry into early childhood education and care (ECEC).
ECEC plays an important social and economic role in Australia. Alongside growing evidence confirming the significant contribution high quality ECEC makes to healthy child development and lifelong outcomes, the system supports workforce participation for primary carers and is central to sustaining decent work for educators and teachers.
While participation in ECEC in Australia has risen considerably, significant, and persistent challenges remain in the system, particularly with increasing differences in access and provision. Access to high quality ECEC is of equal priority to universal school education and requires strategic long-term investment, planning and delivery of services.
The Academy submission makes ten recommendations which aim to redesign the Australian ECEC system to one which is affordable, accessible, equitable and of high quality. The sequencing of reforms is critical and the submission emphasises the wages and labour supply issues must be prioritised and urgently addressed.
Click on ‘download’ to read the submission in full.
