A landmark investigation aired by 7NEWS has triggered sweeping reforms across the childcare sector, with the NSW Premier announcing tougher penalties and new transparency requirements in response to widespread breaches of safety and compliance standards.

Australia is facing a significant shortage in Outside School Hours Care (OSHC), leaving many families—particularly working mothers—struggling to balance employment and childcare responsibilities.

In a landmark initiative to elevate public understanding of early childhood development, The Princess of Wales and the Centre for Early Childhood have unveiled a compelling new film series that delves into the science of social and emotional growth in the earliest years of life.

In a powerful reminder of the life-saving potential of educator vigilance, a Queensland early childhood teacher recently spotted a subtle anomaly in a child’s eye—leading to the diagnosis of a rare and aggressive cancer, retinoblastoma. Her instinct and attention to detail didn’t just raise a red flag. It saved a life.

Australia’s most iconic children’s program, Play School, has teamed up with Little Scientists to bring early childhood educators a vibrant suite of STEM experiments designed for children aged 2–8 years. This exciting collaboration aligns with Series 3 and 4 of Play School’s Science Time, offering hands-on learning experiences that explore everything from sound waves and slime to moon craters and solar energy.

South Australia has become the first Australian state to implement a formal ban on mobile phones within early childhood services. The new regulation is designed to address concerns related to child safety, privacy, and professional conduct in early learning environments.

In a significant move toward strengthening child protection across Australia, the federal government has mobilized a specialist unit to assist in the rollout of a nationwide Working with Children Check (WWCC) system. This marks a pivotal step in unifying fragmented state and territory-based checks into a cohesive national register.

A childcare educator has been dismissed from a service in White Rock following an alleged incident involving a four-year-old boy, who was allegedly struck with a mop and sustained minor injuries. While Queensland Police concluded its investigation without laying criminal charges, the educator’s termination remains upheld by the centre.

A 26-year-old man, David William James, has been charged with multiple offences after allegedly producing child abuse material while employed at six out-of-school hours (OOSH) care services in Sydney between April 2021 and May 2024.

Parliament has passed legislation enabling the federal government to suspend or revoke Child Care Subsidy (CCS) funding for early childhood education providers that fail to meet prescribed safety standards.