ACA Queensland President’s Report

Welcome to the 2023 Winter Early Edition. We hope you have had a wonderful year so far, with plenty to look forward to throughout the remaining months.

On behalf of ACA National, I attended the Grain Growers meeting in Canberra at the beginning of June, with Early Childhood Education & Youth Minister Anne Aly and Shadow Youth Minister Angie Bell. Discussions focused on the urgent need for the agricultural sector to be able to access ongoing, reliable early learning (childcare) services in order to keep working and producing Australia’s fresh produce. I am very grateful to be invited to make such a positive contribution to the discussions on the day and share stories of what is happening in regional, rural and remote Australia with the early childhood workforce.

ACA Qld Vice President, Jae Fraser, Committee Member, Brent Stokes, and I have been busy visiting services across Queensland to support services with the implementation of the Kindy for All funding, as part of the Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland’s partnership with the Queensland Department of Education. It has certainly been a highlight to meet with members and non-members to discuss the roll-out of this funding and address any issues and concerns as they arise. This group meets regularly with the government who take on feedback and make changes where necessary.

More recently, I was invited to attend the 2023-24 State Budget, where Free Kindy was formally announced. With the funding set to commence from 1 January 2024, we have been, and will continue to work with the Department to ensure the implementation of Free Kindy is as seamless as possible for services and families. The application of this funding will allow a projected 50,000 additional children to attend kindy across Queensland for free.

Earlier this month, ACA Qld held our annual National Conference. The ACA Qld 2023 National Conference had over 1,500 attendees, who came together to learn, develop and appreciate what it means to be part of the early learning sector. Being such a large event, everyone involved gets the benefits of networking and forming long-lasting relationships. The Approved Provider Panel Discussion and lunch, sponsored by Childcare Concepts, was once again a great success and an amazing session for all who attended. I’d like to extend thanks to our panel for this session, Nigel Ward (ABLA), Rebecca Storck (Department of Education), and Paul Mondo (ACA National) for their engaging presentations. The Gala Dinner, sponsored by HESTA, was a highlight for me. Once again I could not help but be blown away by the creative costumes! This year’s theme, Garden Party, did not disappoint. Congratulations to those who won best dressed. The night was one to remember, with lots of laughter, dancing and congratulating momentous achievements.

Thank you to everyone who attended our Conference. We are eager to see you again next year. Stay tuned for next year’s conference dates which will be announced shortly. If you are not yet following ACA Qld on social media, now is the time! You can find up to date information in the early learning sector by following and liking us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

I am looking forward to seeing our Members in our upcoming Members’ Meetings, to continue discussions on current issues in our sector. There will be updates on IR, regulatory issues, workforce and so much more as well as an announcement of a new partnership for ACA Qld.

Early Childhood Educators’ Day (6 September) is fast approaching. Early Childhood Educators’ Day originated in Queensland through an initiative of ACA Qld and is now celebrated around the nation, with other countries also now joining in. It is a day of celebration and appreciation. We encourage as many services as they can to add themselves to the map to show that they are part of the celebrations. Have a look at ways services have celebrated in previous years by liking the Early Childhood Educators’ Day page on Facebook.

Please note you are always welcome to contact our ACA Qld office on 07 3808 2366 or qld@childcarealliance.org.au

We thank you for your continued support as we continue to work hard to ensure that all Queensland children receive the #BestStartInLife

Majella Fitzsimmons ACA Qld President