Moved by Councillor Maxwell, seconded by
Councillor Thompson -
It is resolved that:
(A)
Council
note:
(i)
that in
September 2024, the Productivity Commission’s report, A path to universal early
childhood education and care, recommended a nationally significant reform
agenda, including that every child aged 0–5 have access to at least 3 days a
week of high-quality early childhood education and care regardless of parental
work status, that the Child Care Subsidy be reformed to improve affordability,
and that an independent national body be established to steward the system
(ii)
that
the Australian Government has since implemented the 3-Day Guarantee (from
January 2026), removing the activity test for the first 72 hours of subsidised
care per fortnight, alongside a 15%wage increase for early childhood educators
and a package of child safety reforms
(iii)
that
the Australian Government, in response to the Productivity Commission’s
recommendation, is exploring the establishment of a national Early Education and
Care Commission, with a Working Group and time-limited expert panel due to
report to Education Ministers at their meeting on 21 October 2026, and that no
reform of the Child Care Subsidy toward a funding model that reflects the
actual cost of delivering care, varying by the age of the child, has yet been
implemented or costed
(iv)
the
findings of the NSW Legislative Council’s Portfolio Committee No. 3 inquiry
into the early childhood education and care sector (Report 55, tabled 20 May 2026),
including that large for-profit providers are, in general, of lower quality and
less safe than not-for-profit, government and community-run services, that
private-equity-backed services have no place in the sector, and that the
current funding model does not reflect the true cost of delivering high-quality
care
(v)
that
the NSW Government’s response to that inquiry (received 20 August 2026)
committed to a new Universal Preschool Funding program from 2027, fully funding
the operating costs of eligible not-for-profit preschools based on actual
staffing, ratios and award costs, but confined this reform to preschool
services, leaving long day care services, including centre-based services,
outside its scope; and separately supported calling on the Australian
Government to fully investigate alternative funding models, including direct
funding, fee caps and profit caps
(B)
Council
further note:
(i)
that
the NSW Government noted, but did not support, the inquiry’s recommendation
that it develop a policy to shift the overall composition of the sector toward
not-for-profit, government and community provision
(ii)
that
local government, despite its roles as landlord, planning authority and, in
some cases, direct provider of early childhood education and care, is not named
among the stakeholder groups (service providers, unions, peak bodies) publicly
identified as part of the Commonwealth’s consultation on the design of the
proposed Early Education and Care Commission
(C)
the
Lord Mayor be requested to:
(i)
write
to the Federal Minister for Education, the Minister for Early Childhood
Education, and the NSW Minister for Early Learning, advocating that local
government as a sector, as landlords, planning authorities and, in some cases,
direct providers of early childhood education and care, be given a formal
consultation role in the design and establishment of the proposed national
Early Education and Care Commission
(ii)
separately,
and regardless of the outcome of (i), write to the same Ministers setting out
Council’s own position that: the Commission should be given genuine authority
over service planning, supply and location decisions rather than a purely
advisory or monitoring role; that the funding reform NSW has committed to for
not-for-profit preschools, namely full, cost-reflective operating funding
conditional on quality, should be extended to not-for-profit long day care
services; and that the Australian Government should progress, as a matter of
priority, its investigation into alternative funding models, including direct
funding, fee caps and profit caps, as a genuine alternative to the current
demand-side Child Care Subsidy model
(iii)
write
to the Australian Local Government Association and Local Government NSW seeking
confirmation of whether either body currently has a role in the Early Education
and Care Commission’s design consultation; and, if not that they formally seek one
on behalf of the local government sector, and inviting them to consider
adopting the positions set out in (ii) as part of their own advocacy
(D)
the
Chief Executive Officer be requested to make submissions to the design of the
Early Education and Care Commission and related national and state reform
processes as opportunities arise.
Carried unanimously.
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