On the first day of the resumed Parliament, the Australian Greens have successfully established a Senate Inquiry into the quality and safety of early childhood education and care (ECEC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The inquiry follows last week\u2019s meeting of education ministers, which delivered a series of piecemeal measures such as CCTV and a national register. While welcome, the Greens warn these steps alone won\u2019t address the deep, systemic issues in childcare that have seen families lose trust in the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The inquiry will examine the effectiveness of the regulatory framework, the pressures facing the workforce, and whether the current funding model supports quality and safety. It will also provide a platform for families, educators and advocates to share their experiences, and deliver recommendations for both immediate improvements and long-term reforms towards universal early learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The inquiry will report back in early 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greens spokesperson for early education and care, Senator Steph Hodgins-May:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFamilies have lost confidence in the childcare system, and tinkering around the edges with CCTV and registers won\u2019t bring that trust back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis Senate Inquiry will shine a light on a broken system by exposing the conditions that allow abuse, and laying down a clear path to reform through fixing the funding model, lifting the workforce, and strengthening regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing more important than a safe, high-quality future for our kids. That means lifting standards now – not slapping a band-aid on after harm has already occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cImportantly, this Inquiry will give families, educators and advocates a national platform to share their stories and demand change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis inquiry can help pave the way towards the universal early learning legacy the Prime Minister has promised, but so far delayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe welcome cross-parliament backing to put the safety of our kids above party politics.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the first day of the resumed Parliament, the Australian Greens have successfully established a Senate Inquiry into the quality and safety of early childhood education and care (ECEC). The inquiry follows last week\u2019s meeting of education ministers, which delivered a series of piecemeal measures such as CCTV and a national register. While welcome, the … Continue reading “Greens secure Senate Inquiry into childcare quality and safety, with funding model firmly in sight”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34504"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34505,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34504\/revisions\/34505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}