The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard and the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Child Care and Youth, Kate Ellis, announced on Thursday, 17 September 2009, that all states and territories have now signed Bilateral Agreements with the Australian Government to deliver universal access to early childhood education by 2013.

The Australian Government has committed $970 million to achieve universal access. Under the initiative, all Australian children will have access to a quality early childhood education program by 2013. These programs will be delivered in a diversity of settings by a university trained early childhood teacher, for 15 hours a week, 40 weeks a year in the year before formal schooling.

More information about the Bilateral Agreements can be found on the Early Childhood Education National Partnership. For more information on the Universal Access commitment, visit the Universal Access page.

State fact sheets can be found on the MyChild website.