In 2024, the Productivity Commission reported an alarming statistic: for every 100 early childhood education and care services approved under the National Quality Framework, there were 160 incidents deemed “serious.”

The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority defines “serious incidents” as those that pose potential risks to a child’s health or safety. Such incidents can range from physical injuries and severe allergic reactions to medical events like seizures or asthma attacks, exposure to hazardous substances, or situations where a child leaves the facility unexpectedly.

The commission’s analysis for the 2024-2025 period revealed a concerning trend. Nearly 8% of these serious incidents were linked to violations of national standards, a significant increase from the 4.1% recorded between 2019 and 2020.

As of June 30 last year, Australia had 18,018 early childhood learning and childcare services approved under the NQF, a number that reflects growth from the previous year.

Despite this growth in services, the commission highlighted a troubling decline in staff quality, raising concerns about the overall standard of care provided in these facilities.

However, the commission found that while the amount of services had risen, staff quality had declined.

In 2024, 75 per cent of staff had formal qualifications at Certificate III or higher levels, or at least three years of relevant experience.

That’s a significant drop from 82.1 per cent of staff with the same qualifications or experience in 2021.

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