ACA Queensland President’s Report Welcome to the last Early Edition for 2021! It was great to see so many of our members at our Sector Briefings. These briefings were delivered across the state encompassing Townsville, Bundaberg, Toowoomba, Brisbane South, Brisbane North, Brisbane West, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. Our AGM which took place on 18 October 2021 was yet another success. We acknowledge the contribution of two outgoing committee members, Treasurer Doug Burns and Committee Member Rosa McDonald. Both Doug and Rosa have served the organisation well for six years and we would like to thank them both for their support and efforts during their time with us. I would like to welcome Peta Pitcher (CEO, API Childcare Centres) to the committee and congratulate our eight committee members who stood for re-election and were once again all duly elected. I would also like to congratulate Kerrie Lada who was presented with ACA Qld Life Membership in recognition of her outstanding service to ACA Qld over the last 21 years. I once again look forward to being your president for the next 12 months and working together to advocate and care for our Queensland children. Our Supporters’ Evening held on Monday 15 November was another resounding success. It was fantastic to catch up with all our amazing sponsors and thank them for the support we have received during 2021. We are incredibly grateful for our supporter members – and especially our foundation member, The Guild Group – and look forward to our continuing partnerships in 2022. On behalf of members, ACA Qld Vice President Jae Fraser, CEO Kate Tully, and I met with Deputy Director-General Sharon Schimming and Assistant Director-General Deb Dunstone. Together we had positive discussions around key issues facing the early learning sector. We look
2
EARLY EDITION > SUMMER 2021
forward to ongoing dialogue with the Department and welcome any opportunity to engage with all parts of Government to achieve the Best Start in Life for Queensland children.
training team too. We are very excited to have everyone on board and please make them all feel welcome at our next round of Sector Briefings in the new year or Conference in June 2022!
ACA Qld has created a kit to assist members to ensure they are as prepared as possible for the evolving COVID-19 landscape in Queensland. The kit contains lists of recommended measures for various risk levels, some information about what to expect in the event of a service closure, and template letters to families and other stakeholders. The kit is available to download from the Members area of our website, under COVID-19 News. ACA Qld will continue to keep you updated with the latest news and information as these come to hand.
With 2022 just around the corner, now is the time to order any additional copies of the ACA Qld 2022 Diary! To attain this amazing resource please visit the ACA Qld shop located on our website qld.childcarealliance.org.au/shop or contact the office on 07 3808 2366 or qld@childcarealliance.org.au.
Nationally we have been working closely with Government and heavily advocating for early learning service providers to be able to waive gap fees when their service, or part of the service, has to close due to a COVID-19 case. A further 10 allowable absence days will be available to families nationally through to 30 June 2022, bringing the total number of allowable absences this financial year to 52 days. We’re pleased to see these measures are now in place to help remove financial pressures on impacted families and services. There have been some changes in our office team. After nearly five years, it was with both sadness and excitement that we wished Letitia Berndt, ACA Qld Administration Officer, the very best in her future endeavours. We would like to thank Letitia for all her hard work and dedication to our members and the early learning sector. Letitia’s departure has allowed the opportunity to welcome Michelle Morley as our new Administration Officer. Please join us in welcoming Michelle to our team! You may have also noticed a few new friendly faces in our CAECE admin and
I would like to thank the amazing ACA Qld office team, CAECE team, and committee for a fantastic year and their ongoing support for the early learning sector. And lastly, I would like to thank you, our valued members and supporter members for your ongoing support, we value everything you do for our little ones, and we hope you all have a safe and enjoyable festive season with friends and family. We look forward to an amazing year in 2022 and wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Majella Fitzsimmons ACA Qld President
