THRIVE BY WELCOMES FUNDING FOR EARLY LEARNING SERVICES IN VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES
15 February 2023 – Minderoo Foundation’s Thrive by Five campaign has welcomed the Federal Government’s $84 million investment to support early childhood education and care services operating in vulnerable communities.
The investment will enable early learning centres in disadvantaged communities, particularly across regional and rural Australia, to apply for grants of up to $400,000 [1].
Thrive by Five’s Jay Weatherill said the funding would help families and children from vulnerable communities access the benefits of high-quality early learning.
“This investment will improve early learning access for the families that will benefit from it the most,” Mr Weatherill said.
“We know that access to high-quality early learning can help set children up for lifelong success and it can provide essential support to primary carers wanting to re-enter the workforce.
“However, in many communities across Australia are childcare deserts, especially in rural and remote parts of the country and lower socio-economic suburbs where there are simply not enough childcare places.
“This investment from the Federal Government will help address this by incentivising providers to offer places in vulnerable communities and to keep them open.
“While this is a positive step forward, government financial incentives alone will not fix the early learning crisis in rural and disadvantaged parts of the country.”
A recent report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recommended governments play a more direct role in the market, including opening and operating services if necessary [2].
“It is clear government intervention is required to ensure that every Australian child, regardless of where they live, can benefit from high-quality learning in the early years,” Mr Weatherill said.
“We look forward to working with the Federal Government in helping deliver the changes necessary to accomplish this.”
Media contact: Mayank Gurnani (0414 463 827)
