The peak body for First Nations children says proposed reforms to early childhood education and care (ECEC) must deliver deep, systemic change to improve safety for all children.
SNAICC – National Voice for our Children chief executive Catherine Liddle welcomed recent safety-focused proposals but said they must be grounded in the lived realities of families and communities, particularly for First Nations children.
"Safety must be the top priority for all children in early education," Ms Liddle said.
"But we can't ensure that safety until the underlying systemic issues impacting Australia's early learning and care sector are properly addressed."
Renewed scrutiny of the sector has followed the arrest of alleged paedophile Joshua Dale Brown, who worked at more than 20 childcare centres across Melbourne and Geelong.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told ABC RN on Thursday morning the federal government needed to do "everything within our power to clearly make sure that children are safe" in both the education and childcare systems.
"I think we are all looking at ways in which we can take this forward and make sure that children are as safe as possible within childcare centres," Mr Marles said.
"And the revelations that we have seen in the last couple of weeks are obviously sickening. And as we continue to learn about how best to do this, we need to be making sure that we are exercising our powers in a way which keeps kids safe in childcare."
Education Minister Jason Clare said new legislation — developed "in a really constructive way" with the opposition — would likely be introduced when Parliament resumes next week.
The changes will allow the federal government to withdraw funding from centres that fail to meet safety standards, Mr Clare said.
Shadow Education Minister Jonno Duniam also backed reform, saying the current system is "frankly not working", arguing there are "too many gaps in reporting" and "too many gaps in information sharing".
Giving credit to Mr Clare, he added: "We're all bearing responsibility for this, but the reality is we now just have to hurry up and get such measures in place."
Ms Liddle, who has long called for changes to the childcare subsidy model, said profit motives were compromising safety and quality.
"Unless we fundamentally shift the way early education is funded and supported, we will continue to see safety and quality issues arise," she said.
"The way the regulations are implemented, how they impact and who they impact must be taken into account."
She warned any new legislation must not add extra pressure to organisations already leading in the sector, especially Aboriginal community-controlled organisations.
"The community-controlled sector is already demonstrating what high-quality, culturally safe early education looks like," Mr Liddle said.
SNAICC said it was ready to work with governments on long-term reforms to create a safer and more equitable early education system.
"Considerations must be made to ensure we are not piling on more bureaucratic red tape and expense that takes educators away from children," Ms Liddle said.
"This is not the time for knee-jerk policy. It's time for lasting reform."
