Influencing early years reform

Recommendations to build a more equitable, child-centred system

Australia is at a pivotal moment in early childhood services reform.  

With a number of significant initiatives taking place at the federal level – like the $1b Building Early Education Fund (BEEF), the 3-Day Guarantee and more – we have an unprecedented opportunity to build a more equitable, child-centred early years system; one that helps lift families and communities out of disadvantage. 

This month, our Director of Early Years, Emma Sydenham will meet with sector leaders and government ministers to present a series of recommendations. These recommendations are the result of years of research and collaboration. They are practical first steps for the government to action to ensure more families can access the supports they need, when they need them.

All our evidence shows that Early Childhood Hubs are life-changing,” says Emma, “for children, for parents, for families and communities.”
“When early childhood education and care is integrated and holistic, we see improved child development outcomes, stronger engagement from parents, enhanced child safety through joined up care, and a compelling social return on investment of up to $3.50 for every $1 spent.”

For families facing intersecting challenges, our current system of fragmented and siloed social services can be overwhelming.  

Early Childhood Hubs provide coordinated, trusted pathways that connect educators, health professionals, and community workers around the specific needs of each child. In this way, the system works to address the underlying causes of vulnerability, rather than merely treating its symptoms.

Summarising our recommendations

A comprehensive Policy Brief outlining the case for reform and next steps for the federal government will be available on request from 24 March 2026. In it, we provide a series of recommendations to embed Early Childhood Hubs and other integrated models within Australia’s early years system.  

These recommendations consolidate years of research and data collection, collaboration and connection with service providers, families and communities. They include:

• Leverage capital investments
  Utilise the BEEF to construct purpose-built, integrated Hubs that co-locate services, rather than building standalone Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centres.

• Fund integration, not just services
  Provide stable, long-term funding for the relational ‘glue’ – the coordination, workforce capability, and shared systems – that make integration work on the ground.

• Reform funding for equity
  Implement needs-based ECEC funding informed by the Early Education Service Delivery Price (SDP) project, alongside dedicated, co-contributed funding models for ACCO-led and Intensive ECEC services.

The right support can change a child’s life

For families facing intersecting challenges, navigating fragmented social services can be overwhelming. By co-locating early childcare and education with wrap-around supports, Hubs act as both service centres and social anchors within a community.

Our Place Morwell in Victoria is one of more than 230 Early Childhood Hubs operating around Australia with early learning as the ‘front door’. For Mona, a mother of five children, the Hub has been life-changing.

“The Hub is my confidence,” she says. “It has made me the person I am now.”

Watch Mona’s story and find out why we’re working so hard to influence policy so that more families around Australia have access to an Early Childhood Hub like Our Place.

Thank you to our supporters

This work is enabled by our generous supporters, including the Minderoo Foundation and The Berg Family Foundation, who share our commitment to better understand and mobilise the potential of Early Childhood Hubs to provide high-quality, integrated early childhood services and supports to children and families experiencing vulnerability.