Wednesday, 27 August 2025

Ministers statements: early childhood education and care

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:32): I rise to update the house on the successful education ministers meeting held last Friday in Sydney and the positive outcomes reached. This includes our government’s successful advocacy for improvements to child safety that were recommended by the rapid review undertaken by Jay Weatherill and Pam White. Fifteen rapid review recommendations made by Mr Weatherill and Ms White require national action. This is because early childhood education and care services are regulated under a national framework, national law and national regulations. This is important because we do not want predators crossing borders. I am pleased to advise the house that 10 of the recommendations that require national action have already been agreed, or agreed in part, to be implemented following Friday’s meeting. Importantly, this includes agreement to amend the national law to make the safety, rights and best interests of children the paramount consideration in all decision-making. This will apply to all staff in services, from educators and managers all the way up to board members, because the safety, rights and best interests of children must underpin all decision-making in the early childhood education and care system, from the boardroom to the playroom.

In addition, education ministers agreed to establish a national early childhood worker register, increase penalties for offences, commence a national trial of CCTV in early childhood education and care settings, implement improvements to the information available to parents about service quality and compliance and require national mandatory child safety training for all people involved in the provision of early childhood education and care. This work is in addition to the immediate steps that the Allan Labor government is already taking to improve child safety in Victoria, including our initial investment of $42 million to establish a new nation-leading regulator that will more than double the frequency of compliance checks and beef up the social services regulator, giving it new powers and removing silos. As I said yesterday, we look forward to those opposite being true to their word that they will provide constructive support to any measures that improve our early education and care system in response to the rapid child safety review, because child safety should be above politics.