Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to rise to speak on the Early Childhood Education and Care (Strengthening Regulation of Early Education) Bill 2025. This is an important piece of legislation. Every parent should feel confident that, when they drop their child off at an early learning centre, they are leaving them in a place that is safe, high quality and well run. I know that, when my children went to early learning centres, that's what I assumed I was dropping them off to—a place that was safe, high quality and well run.

Sadly, recent events—horrendous acts—have shaken that confidence. In Victoria, families have been left traumatised after the arrest of an individual facing serious charges involving children at multiple early learning centres. Thousands of parents are now dealing with the fear that their child may be harmed in a place that was meant to protect them.

This bill is part of our government's response. It strengthens the Commonwealth's role in ensuring safety and quality in early childhood education and care. Most early learning providers across Australia, as we've heard the shadow minister say in his contribution, do the right thing. They work hard every day to give children the best start in life. But we've seen what happens when a small number of services repeatedly fail to meet the standard. This bill gives the Commonwealth power to act when services fall short—not just after harm is done, but before it happens. It's about using the biggest lever we have, the childcare subsidy, to lift standards, not just respond to problems.

At its core, the bill does four key things. First, it puts quality and safety at the centre of provider approvals. If a provider has a poor track record, they can be refused approval or stopped from expanding. Second, it strengthens the department's compliance powers, including the power to suspend or cancel approvals where standards aren't met. Third, it increases transparency, allowing the department to publish more information about enforcement actions. And, finally, it gives Commonwealth officers the power to carry out unannounced spot checks, just like state regulators already do.

These are commonsense reforms, and they are needed. The Commonwealth does not license or regulate childcare centres—that's a job for the states and territories—but we do fund the system. The Commonwealth provides around $16 billion a year in childcare subsidy payments. That funding covers about 70 per cent of the cost of running a typical service. That gives us a powerful responsibility to ensure public funding is tied to high standards.

This legislation gives the secretary of the department the ability to consider a provider's full record—including serious incidents, complaints and prior compliance breaches—when deciding whether they should receive public funding. It also allows for notices to be issued, for conditions placed on approvals and, in serious cases, for approval to be withdrawn altogether. Providers will still have the chance to respond. This is not about unfairly penalising services; it is about setting a clear expectation. If you don't provide safe, high-quality care, you can't expect public support.

The bill also expands the enforcement register. This means parents will be able to see if a provider has been refused a new service, issued an infringement notice or had conditions placed on their operations. That transparency matters. Choosing a childcare service is one of the most important decisions a family makes. Parents deserve access to clear, timely information. These reforms also extend to family daycare centres and in-home care, where oversight can be more difficult. From January, providers in these settings will be required to collect gap fees directly from families. This will reduce fraud and simplify administration.

The bill also streamlines how compliance officers operate, especially in regional and remote areas, and allows quicker auditing of large providers when concerns arise. We are also working on a stronger national oversight, including better tracking of educators' histories across the services. We are supporting improvements to working-with-children checks and continuing to invest in educator training and professional development. There is no single solution to keeping children safe in early learning, but this bill is a major step forward, and doing nothing is not an option. For the good providers already doing the right thing, this bill creates a more level playing field. For families, it helps to restore trust that early learning is safe and properly monitored.

This reform has been developed in consultation with the sector. The government has worked closely with state and territory regulators and with key stakeholders, including Family Day Care Australia and the Australian Home Childcare Association. Their feedback helped shape the bill and ensure the measures are practical and supported. This work continues Labor's longstanding commitment to early childhood education. Every child deserves the best start, and every parent deserves confidence in the system. We are also working with state and territory governments on a strong and significant package of reforms. As was acknowledged by Senator Duniam in his contribution, the Commonwealth has limited powers. State and territory governments also need to deal with the issues that we are being confronted with. We need to work together.

As the education minister has said, the goal is to give every educator and provider the tools to help keep children safe and to give parents peace of mind. These are the next steps in building a stronger, safer early education system, and this bill is the foundation.