Our sector leadership – creating momentum for universal high quality early education and care

Every day, CELA represents the interests of community and small providers to governments at all levels. Our advocacy creates momentum to deliver solutions that support our five advocacy pillars to solve our members’ critical issues.

The past three years has been groundbreaking at a federal level for the early education and care sector. With the breadth of major reform opportunities underway, we have created new and influential opportunities to raise our members’ voices and advocate for the changes that they urgently need. CELA has led the way, advocating for a sector that is ready for the future with universal access, professional wages and expanded community services.

To take full advantage of these opportunities, we have invested in our most ambitious advocacy campaign to date. We recognised the Federal Governments’ appetite for major reform and knew that community and small providers had to have a seat at the table.

Bringing our advocacy pillars to life

During this term of Federal Parliament, we focused on major reforms that would:

• create a sustainable workforce
• grow a stronger community sector
• put children’s needs at the heart of the Federal Government’s plan for early education and care.

This is the key to delivering universal quality early education and care, no matter where they live. It’s the basis for growing sustainable and resilient services staffed by skilled and qualified educators.

CELA delivered this via five key advocacy streams:

• Solving workforce shortages through government funded professional wages to early educators and teachers.
• Delivering affordable early education and care for all families regardless of where they live through major funding reform.
• Setting all children up for lifelong success through sustainable funding to meet predicted needs.
• Helping communities to grow new services that meet the particular needs of local children and families via a dedicated Federal Government fund.
• Laying the foundations for the next phase of major reform to deliver universal high quality early education and care.

CELA made influential contributions to the major reform processes that would help the Federal Government chart the way forward to a high quality universal early education and care system. This included creating opportunities to highlight the incredible contribution of community and small providers to children, families, and our economy. CELA made many influential contributions including creating opportunities for our member services to share their stories in Federal Parliament, highlighting the reforms that children and families urgently need.

2025 Federal Budget

Last week's Federal Budget showed that we’ve been heard.

The Federal Government 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.
• A $1 billion Building Early Education Fund to help communities to grow new services that meet the particular needs of local children and families.
• A Three Day Guarantee for early childhood education and care, ensuring that the children who will benefit most can access early education and care.

What this means for our members

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. Our intensive advocacy has grown decision makers’ understanding of the value of community and small early education providers, creating momentum for the reforms that are essential to grow our sector. 

The Federal Government prioritised the most urgent reforms which will unlock the potential of community and small providers including funding a 15% wage increase for long day care educators and teachers. This was a critical first step in solving longstanding workforce shortages and has created momentum for solving low wages in other parts of our sector.

We now have the foundations for the Federal Government’s plan for universal early childhood education and care. This recognises the central role that community and small providers will play in delivering this for Australian families.

What’s next?

The Federal Election has been called and Parliament has been dissolved, but that doesn’t mean the advocacy work stops! CELA continues to lead this essential advocacy to achieve our vision of universal high quality early education and care on behalf of our members.

Regardless of who wins the 3 May election, CELA will continue to work intensively with the Federal Government to prioritise reforms that will unlock the potential of community and small providers.

This includes:

• Providing administrative and governance support via a Community Managed Early Childhood Education & Care Business Hub to ensure services can focus on high quality service delivery.
• Growing new community managed services using CELA’s Local Champion model.
• Using federal Family Assistance Law and state regulatory levers to drive a national uplift in high quality, safe early education and care services for children.

While the outcome of the next Federal Government is determined, we continue our advocacy with the NSW Government to strengthen the early education workforce, support the development of Business Hubs for community-managed services, ensure financially sustainable service delivery that meets the needs of children and families, and expand access to preschool for all families.

This is an unprecedented moment where families, the early education sector and governments are all ready for change. We can’t afford to lose this hard won progress. That’s why we’ll be highlighting the issues that the next Federal Government must prioritise during the election campaign.

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