On 14 October 2009 the Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, and the Minister for Early Childhood Education and Child Care, Kate Ellis, announced 780 new university places in early childhood teaching.

There will be 500 new places available in 2010, with an initial allocation of 280 places in 2011. This builds on the 500 new places that were provided in 2009.

Investing in the early childhood workforce is a key element of the Australian Government’s widespread reforms for early childhood, which aim to improve the quality, affordability and accessibility of early childhood education and child care.

The new university places have been allocated in the following states and territories:

• 2010: New South Wales (185 places); Victoria (155 places); Queensland (60 places); South Australia (40 places); Northern Territory (50 places) and the Australian Capital Territory (10 places).
• 2011: New South Wales (55 places); Victoria (50 places); Queensland (60 places); Western Australia (65 places); and South Australia (50 places).

Additional places will be offered in 2011 to bring the total number of extra early childhood university places to 1500, as promised at the last election.

Following the introduction of a student-centred funding system for higher education places in 2012, there will be no limit to the number of new Commonwealth supported undergraduate early childhood education places that can be offered by public universities.

Further information about the Government’s early childhood workforce reforms is available here.