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Australian families and children deserve an ECEC system they can trust.

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Let’s make it happen.

To support the Government’s commitment to universal Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), Thrive by Five and its partners are calling on the Commonwealth to invest $4 million in the 2026-27 Federal Budget to develop a National ECEC Reform Blueprint.

Australia can be a country where every child is supported to thrive. To do this however, we must first address the barriers that stop children from reaching their full potential. We must build a holistic early years system that puts children at the centre of action.

Australia’s ECEC sector is a critical part of this system. While it is only one part, it requires immediate and specific action if it is to truly evolve and meet the needs of Australian families.

This is why Thrive by Five is calling for a National ECEC Reform Blueprint.

This ask is a disciplined first step in consolidating momentum and providing government with a clear pathway to a comprehensively reformed system that best meets the needs of children and their communities.

Australia’s ECEC sector needs governance that puts safety, sustainability and child wellbeing first.

A universally accessible, high-quality ECEC system is foundational to Australia’s long-term social and economic prosperity. It is the most equitable and enduring mechanism to ensure that all Australian children and their families have access to early childhood development services.

The call for a National ECEC Reform Blueprint is a targeted, time-limited investment to provide the Commonwealth with the tools needed to design and implement a successful plan, ensuring current and future ECEC investment delivers the greatest possible impact.

Guiding principles

The ask for a National ECEC Reform Blueprint is underpinned by two sets of guiding principles built by Thrive by Five partners. These are there to ensure both the design and execution outputs reflect the values of Thrive by Five, its partners and the communities we represent.  

Blueprint Development Principles

How the National Reform Blueprint is designed and delivered.

1. Independent and credible
Expert-led, with strong governance to ensure objectivity, trust and sector confidence led with strong governance to ensure objectivity, trust and sector confidence.

2. National and inclusive
Structured, transparent engagement with families, workforce, providers and governments to ensure reforms are practical and implementable.

3. Evidence driven
Grounded in robust data, cost modelling, workforce projections and international best practice driven.

4. Implementation ready
Clear sequencing, transition pathways and risk management—especially for thin markets and workforce supply ready.

5. Fiscally responsible
Full costings, efficiency analysis and long-term sustainability to support disciplined public investment.

6. Transparent and accountable
Clear documentation of assumptions, consultation input and performance measures to build public trust.

7. Bold but deliverable
Focused on solving structural problems, not rediagnosing them—ambitious reforms with a clear path to delivery.

Architecture Principles

What the system reform must achieve.

1. Universal access, fairly delivered
Affordable, available, inclusive ECEC for all children, with targeted action for underserved communities.

2. Safe by design
Regulation and assurance systems that actively safeguard children, not just monitor compliance.

3. High quality education and care
A strengthened quality framework focused on what matters most for children’s learning and development quality education and care.

4. A valued, capable workforce
Workforce planning, pay, conditions and professional capability embedded at the heart of system design.

5. Active public stewardship
A shift from market led settings to government shaping supply, setting expectations and coordinating actors—while supporting a high-quality, mixed provider system.

6. Outcomes focused performance
Success measured by children’s outcomes, equity of access and service sustainability, not compliance activity alone focused performance.

7. National coordination, shared accountability
Strong Commonwealth–State alignment through a renewed, outcome focused national partnership agreement.

8. Clear system boundaries
A well defined ECEC system, with intentional links to the broader early childhood development ecosystem defined ECEC system, with intentional links to the broader early childhood development ecosystem.

9. Independent oversight and transparency
Independent advice, public reporting and accountability mechanisms to build confidence and sustain reform.

Why is now the time for stronger national ECEC coordination?

  • Safety breaches are unacceptable.
  • Public confidence is shaken.
  • Workforce shortages persist.
  • Services are clustered in some communities and absent in others.
  • Accountability is split across levels of government.
  • Public funding flows at scale, yet no single body holds responsibility for how the system operates as a whole.
  • Some providers are prioritising profit over safety.
  • High-quality services cannot be assured.
  • And despite substantial government investment in cost initiatives like the Child Care Subsidy (CCS), families are not guaranteed consistent affordability.

How can you get involved?

Thrive by Five stands ready to work with the government to develop and deliver this Blueprint, and to help ensure the next phase of reform is coordinated, ambitious and built to last.

If you haven’t already, please join the Thrive by Five campaign below to lend your voice to this important ask. More information will be shared with community campaign members shortly.

You can also download Thrive by Five’s pre-budget submission.

Together, we can build a future where every child is safe, supported and empowered to truly thrive by five.

  • Minderoo Foundation | Thrive by Five

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