Free Kinder will be available for both 3 and 4-year-old kindergarten programs from 2023. All early childhood education and care providers that deliver a funded kindergarten program in Victoria are eligible to receive Free Kinder funding from 2023, subject to meeting specified terms and conditions.

Due to a rising teacher shortage, more early learning centres are operating without enough qualified early childhood teachers, which could jeopardise the federal government's promise to make daycare more affordable.

Early childhood educators are represented by the United Workers Union (Union), which has called for a strike on September 7 in protest of the wages and working conditions in the industry.

Australia Post is the principal partner of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. They have created the Pen Pal Club teacher guide encouraging children to investigate and share First Nations stories and culture through letter writing.

It is crucial that all providers and service staff ensure children are safe, healthy and protected from harm and risks associated with sleep and rest by complying with all sleep and rest regulatory requirements.

Hundreds of early childhood union members voted to take national action, shut down the early learning sector and take to the streets on Early Childhood Educators Day on September 7.

NSW Health is currently seeing an increase in the number of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases in ECEC services and is predicting cases to grow over the coming months.

The Andrews government is providing location incentives of $9,000 to $50,000 for early childhood teachers to accept positions in particular Victoria regional, rural, and metro areas that need further support as part of the new Kindergarten Workforce Strategy changes.

The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature has produced a new Resource that celebrates children’s books by and about Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

With the impact of COVID -19 and well as shortages of ECT and qualified Educators, what do services do when an Educator is absent or when a temporary replacement of ECTs is required due to staff shortages or illness.  The following explains how to ensure staff ratios are compliant when an ECT is absent, no ECT is present at the service, an ECT has not completed their qualification and more.