Advocacy

As a peak body for early childhood education, Community Early Learning Australia is an influential and vital advocacy force for the sector and for Australia's children. 

CELA's advocacy for the early childhood education sector

An important part of our work at CELA is year round advocacy that represents the interests of members and the sector. Advocacy means we play a role by speaking with governments about issues and potential solutions, providing analysis and statistical evidence, and conveying the views of members. Our advocacy helps government understand how policies affect early childhood service provision and, ultimately, the families and children using these services.

Latest advocacy news

Federal Budget 2025

This Budget, the Federal Government has locked in $5 billion for the foundations of a high quality early education and care system that is universal, sustainable and easy to access, including:

✅ funding professional pay to attract and retain qualified, well supported early educators and teachers

✅ $1 billion Building Early Education Fund to help communities grow new services that meet the particular needs of local children and families

✅ Three Day Guarantee for early childhood education and care, ensuring that the children who will benefit most can access early education and care.

It’s exciting to see key parts of our Advocacy Roadmap and Pre-Budget Submissions coming to life!

CELA has worked intensively to highlight the value of community and small providers to decision makers over the past three years, driving the reforms that are essential to grow our sector.

It’s clear that the Federal Government understands the scale of reform required to make quality early education available to all children and is committed to making this real.

 

Read our joint Pre-Budget Submission with Community Child Care:

READ NOW

Our Sector Leadership – 2025 Federal Budget

24-WAT-0515-1R-50-(1).jpgIn late 2024, the Prime Minister announced an ambitious plan for universal early childhood education and care that recognises the central role that community and small services will play in delivering this for Australian families.

The Federal Government listened to CELA, putting quality universal access, quality education and community managed services at the heart of Australia’s 21st century education and care system.

CELA in partnership with CCC have created a plan that can deliver the Prime Minister’s vision for early education and care in the 2025 Federal Budget.

Our Pre-Budget Submission outlines how the Federal Government can achieve its vision for early childhood education and care in the 2025 Budget. This includes:

  • guaranteeing 30 hours of free or low-cost early education and care for all children 0 – 5 years and equivalent 3 days for school age children in outside school hours care
  • funding reform to ensure affordable early education and care for all families, regardless of where they live or how much they earn
  • enough places and spaces in every community to meet the needs of all children and families
  • setting children up for lifelong success by funding inclusion support services that reflect what’s actually needed by children and families
  • a qualified valued workforce to deliver universal education and care.

Community and small services will be the foundation for achieving the Federal Government’s vision for early education and care. That’s why we are raising the voices of our member services with decision-makers in the lead-up to the 2025 Federal Budget.

READ SUBMISSION

Federal Government answers CELA’s call to action

In December 2024, the Prime Minister announced an ambitious plan for universal early childhood education and care that recognises the central role that community-managed not-for-profit services will play in delivering this for Australian families.

The Federal Government has listened to CELA, putting quality universal access, quality education and community-managed services at the heart of Australia’s 21st-century education and care system.

CELA has worked intensively with decision-makers to ensure this historic commitment happened in this term of Federal Parliament.


We are pleased the Federal Government has adopted many of our key reforms including:

-delivering three days guaranteed early education and care for all children

-changing the activity test to ensure children who will benefit most can access education and care

-growing community-managed not-for-profit services to ensure all children can access quality early education, particularly in areas of undersupply

-creating a sustainable early education workforce through professional wages

-research into the cost of delivering high-quality early childhood education and care.

The $1 billion Building Early Education Fund will be a huge boost for the community sector. We have been working with so many communities that have been crying out for the infrastructure investment that today’s announcement delivers. This is the foundation to unlock the potential of early childhood education for children, families, and our broader communities.


It’s clear that the Federal Government values high-quality community and small early education and care services. This is the missing link that will enable towns across Australia to build the social infrastructure they need to deliver early education and care for their community.

Early education employers sign historic 15% pay deal for early childhood educators and teachers

On 5 December, employers, educators and teachers signed the first national supported bargaining agreement with the Federal Government yesterday. 

Read a summary of what occurred and view the photos. 

READ MORE

Productivity Commission Report

The Productivity Commission has released the final report from its in-depth #ECEC inquiry, outlining the road map for delivering universal affordable early childhood education and care.

CELA’s CEO Michele Carnegie was in Brisbane to hear Minister Clare and Aly’s initial response.

This report is the final piece of the reform puzzle required for the Federal Government to deliver long overdue reforms to early childhood education and care. It adopts many of the recommendations that we’ve advocated on behalf of our member services.

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3.6 billion reasons to celebrate

Find out what we know now, what's next and how you can stay informed as the negotiations progress

The Federal Government has confirmed they will fund an initial 15% pay increase for early childhood educators and teachers in a $3.6 billion commitment.  

The announcement is a win for a sector that has been struggling with workforce shortages for too long. This is the moment that we have been working so hard towards on behalf of our community and small provider member services, through the multi-employer bargaining process.  

Find out what's happened to date, and what the next steps are. 

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CELA and IEU lodge NSW Preschool MEB application

Member article - log in to read

Professional pay and conditions for NSW preschool educators and teachers is one step closer, following last Friday's application for multi-employer bargaining (MEB) by CELA and the IEU.

Find out why it matters and what's next in the process. 

READ MORE

Submissions

2025-26 Pre-Budget Submission

Jan '25

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2024-25 Pre-Budget Submission

Jan '24

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Productivity Commission – ECEC Inquiry Draft Report

Feb '24

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Jobs and Skills Australia ECEC Capacity Study

Feb '24

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Advocacy Report 2023

Dec '23

CELA’s advocacy places community and small providers of early education at the forefront. 2023 was a significant year for early childhood advocacy as both federal and state governments pressed forward on ambitious reform agendas.

DOWNLOAD REPORT

CELA IPART Interim Report Submission

Nov '23

CELA's submission to the Interim Report welcomes the draft findings and recommendations, emphasising that the time is now for state and federal governments to work together to reset the early education and care sector, to make sure it is fit for the future and works to fully support children and families.

DOWNLOAD REPORT

ACCC Interim Report submission

Oct '23

A joint submission by CELA and CCC.

DOWNLOAD REPORT

CELA's submission to the National Care and Support Strategy

June '23

CELA's submission is broadly supportive of the draft strategy prepared by the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet but highlights the uniqueness of the education and care sector. 

DOWNLOAD REPORT

IPART Review - CELA response to issues paper

May '23

CELA's submission to the Issues Paper highlights the opportunity we have to reimagine an ECEC system that recognises all learning starts from birth—one that truly holds the needs of Australia’s children as its fundamental starting point. 

DOWNLOAD REPORT

CELA submission to the Early Years Strategy

May '23

In our submission, we call on Government to introduce universal access to early education and care, wrap-around services to ensure children's health milestones and monitored and and met, and appropriate supports so that all families can thrive. 

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CELA's Submission to the Select Senate Committee on Cost of Living

May '23

Our response to the Select Senate Inquiry into the Cost of Living highlights the plight of the essential 200,000 plus education and care workforce, who, due to low wages,are disproportionately impacted by the unprecedented levels of inflation currently being experienced by all Australians. We call on the Committee to work with all levels of Government to urgently address wages for the education and care sector. 

Download

CELA's Submission to the Productivity Commission's Inquiry

May '23

In our submission to the Productivity Commission's Inquiry into Early Childhood Education and Care, we call on Government for a new vision for early childhood education and care, including guaranteed universal access to education and care from birth to school age, a strong, stable and professionally paid workforce and a stable sector which supports quality, access and choice. 

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Our 6 Point Plan for Education and Care

April '22

We have built a plan that delivers access to high quality early education and care for all types of families, close to where they live. 

Download Plan

We advocate across five key areas

1. Achieving quality early education

quality early education

Ensuring that all children in Australia have access to affordable, high quality early education and care is one of CELA’s key principles and underpins our commitment to achieving best practice nationally.

Success means that increasingly, more centres and services will meet and exceed quality standards and ultimately best practice will become the norm across our sector.

2. Building a stable workforce that’s nurtured and valued

stable workforce

Quality early childhood education and care depends upon the calibre and strength of our workforce. A stable workforce is also essential for building responsive relationships with children and families.

CELA understands the challenges and concerns facing the ECEC workforce, both now and into the future. Our members must be able to attract and retain quality entrants, manage workload and levels of workforce stress, and provide professional development, pathways and recognition.

3. Ensuring viability for community and small providers

viability for community and small providers

Community and small providers of early childhood education and care provide crucial services as a centre point for many communities across Australia. We are acutely aware of the important role they play and of their unique challenges and vulnerabilities.

These smaller providers collectively comprise a vital part of our early childhood education and care infrastructure. Most approved providers across Australia are in fact small and community providers, with their services making up over 30% of all early childhood education and care services (ACECQA).

4. Improving access for vulnerable children

improving access

Our most vulnerable children have the most to gain from early childhood education but are less likely to attend. Prior to COVID-19 over 750,000 children were living below the poverty line – this figure is likely to increase due to the economic impact of COVID-19.

There are multiple barriers to vulnerable children accessing early childhood education and care, which include cost, transport and availability of safe, culturally responsive services.

During COVID-19 we saw major behaviour change when free childcare was introduced. A significant number of vulnerable children attended long day-care for the first time or increased their hours. Once fees resumed, services reported these children no longer attending. CELA is deeply concerned that thousands of vulnerable children are again invisible having now been removed from early childhood education and care.

5. Closing the gap for rural children

closing the gap

Despite the fact that early childhood is the period of greatest brain development with profound longterm influences, too many rural and regional children lack access to quality early childhood education and care.

A range of barriers must be addressed to ensure high quality ECEC provision is available in rural and remote areas. Access to timely and quality early childhood education and care is a vital part of the solution to solving the widening gap in education, health and life outcomes between city and country.

CELA’s CEO Michele Carnegie undertakes a range of approaches on behalf of members, including:

  • Liaising with State and Federal Ministers to explain issues and provide solutions
  • Liaising regularly with senior agency staff who brief and appraise State Ministers
  • Via our publications Amplify and Broadside we report on issues of importance to our sector
  • Member of multiple advisory panels where we represent the perspective of community and small providers
  • Providing targeted submissions to important reviews such as the NQF, Workforce Strategy and EYLF

To advocate effectively we ensure that we understand the views and needs of our members through:

  • Listening to feedback via conversations with our members
  • Undertaking Member Surveys on specific issues
  • Our Learning & Development program which connects us with several thousand educators annually
  • Our collective CELA leadership expertise

LEARN ABOUT OUR ADVOCACY HISTORY

CELA’s advocacy – examples and impact

Improving wages and conditions for the early childhood education and care workforce

From December 2024, CCS-funded services across Australia will be able to access a ‘worker retention payment’ of 15% above Award, funded by the Australian Government. This was a result of sustained advocacy by CELA over several years. With a workforce crisis emerging, CELA partnered with like-minded peaks to survey services to understand the extent of the workforce shortage and its impact on services.

The results were stark and provided the strong evidence-base needed to engage Government with the task of solving it.

CELA worked collaboratively with Government, other peak bodies, and large and small providers, to test the new Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act and applied to the Fair Work Commission to engage in the first-ever multi-employer bargaining process. This process brought Government to the table as the primary funder of early childhood education and care, to fund the wage increase without passing on increasing costs to families.

 

Building professional respect

Language matters. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) counts and categorises various aspects of the workforce, including occupations. Until 2024, the ABS classification system, known as the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), used outdated titles such as 'Child Carer' and 'Child Care Centre Manager' to describe roles within the early childhood education and care workforce.

CELA successfully advocated to the ABS for updates to occupation titles within the early childhood sector. These updated titles, which reflect CELA’s and other peak bodies' advocacy efforts, now better represent the roles in the field. Recommended titles include "Children's Education and Care Service Director," "Early Childhood Education Room Leader," and "Early Childhood Educator," which the ABS has proposed for adoption to reflect modern terminology.

The new occupation titles are expected to be adopted by the ABS from 2025.

 

Influencing national policy directions for children and early childhood development and care

In recent years, governments have shown a growing interest in early childhood development and the policies that ensure the best outcomes for children. This reflects the understanding that supporting children effectively in their first five years brings lifelong benefits, not only for individuals and families but also for communities and the broader economy. The Australian Government is no exception, having initiated several major policy reviews, including the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Early Childhood Education and Care, the ACCC Childcare Inquiry, and the development of a national Early Years Strategy.

When contributing to the Government’s Early Years Strategy, we emphasised the need to focus on priorities that will drive meaningful change. Key recommendations included:

  • Universal access to high-quality early childhood education and care
  • An accountable, evidence-based early years system

The Government has since adopted a strategy that supports:

  • Progress towards universal access to early childhood education and care
  • Enhanced accountability and coordination, with a stronger emphasis on data, research, and evaluation.

 

Read our submission

FAQs

What is early childhood education advocacy?

Early childhood advocacy refers to the efforts made to influence public policies, practices, and perceptions to ensure that all children have access to high-quality early childhood education and care. Advocacy can involve raising awareness, gathering evidence, mobilising communities, engaging with policymakers, and working to secure resources and support for early childhood programs. The goal is to create an environment where every child has the opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential during their early years.

  

How does CELA advocate for early childhood education?

CELA (Community Early Learning Australia) advocates for early childhood education by engaging in a range of activities designed to influence policy, improve practice, and raise public awareness.

This includes: 

  • Policy development and submissions: CELA works with government bodies and policymakers to develop and refine policies that impact early childhood education, ensuring that the voices of educators and providers are heard. From time to time, governments seek feedback on new policies or to explore issues via formal consultation processes and requests for responses. CELA canvasses member views and analyses data to develop formal submissions to advise government.

  • Public campaigns: We run campaigns or add our support to campaigns that highlight key issues in early childhood education, such as funding, workforce conditions, and the importance of quality early learning. 

  • Community engagement: CELA collaborates with early childhood services, local government, educators, and families to gather insights and data that inform our advocacy efforts. We also provide resources and training to empower others to become advocates for early childhood education. 

  • Media and public relations: CELA actively engages with the media to promote the importance of early childhood education and to raise awareness of critical issues facing the sector. 

Why is advocacy important in early childhood education?

Advocacy is crucial in early childhood education because it helps ensure that all children have access to the high-quality education and care they need during their most critical developmental years. Effective advocacy can lead to: 

  • Improved policies: Advocacy can influence government policies and regulations, leading to better funding, higher standards, and more support for early childhood education services. 
  • Greater public awareness: Advocacy efforts help raise awareness about the importance of early childhood education, leading to increased public support and investment in early learning programs. 
  • Equity and inclusion: Through advocacy, we can address disparities in access to early childhood education and work towards ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to benefit from early learning. 
  • Stronger early childhood workforce: Advocacy helps improve the conditions and recognition of early childhood educators, ensuring that the workforce is supported, valued, and equipped to provide the best possible care and education to children. 

Join Us

Our membership packages offer vital support to new providers and beyond, with access to resources, publications, events and expert phone support.

We’re your voice for advocacy and a vital channel for training and information, delivering up-to-the minute breaking news, updates and analysis on regulations, policies and general running of successful ECE services, plus professional development, consultancy and management support.

We’ve been a trusted source of knowledge and support for early education organisations across Australia for almost 50 years.

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