What is universal access to early childhood education?
The Australian Government is committed to ensuring that every child has access to a quality early childhood education program. The program is to be delivered by a four-year university-trained early childhood teacher, for 15 hours a week, 40 weeks a year, in the year before formal schooling (often referred to as ‘preschool’ or ‘kindergarten’). The commitment is to be fully implemented by mid 2013.
On 29 November 2008, the Council of Australian Governments endorsed a major National Partnership Agreement on Early Childhood Education. The Australian Government has now entered into Bilateral Agreements under this National Partnership with all State and Territory governments. These Agreements specify the actions and strategies to be undertaken by each jurisdiction to achieve universal access. More information about the National Partnership and Bilateral Agreementsas well as information on progress towards achieving universal access by mid 2013 is available.
This commitment to achieving universal access will be underpinned by the development of the Early Years Learning Framework and supported by National Quality Standards for Early Childhood Education and Care which will raise the quality of early childhood education delivered, regardless of setting, and improve access for disadvantaged children to early learning opportunities.
Who is responsible for implementation?
State and territory governments are responsible for ensuring the delivery of preschool education. Under the National Partnership, each state and territory government has an agreed strategy for achieving the universal access goal, as outlined in bilateral agreements (or implementation plans) with the Australian Government. Each state and territory has different arrangements for regulating, funding and delivering early childhood education services. Therefore, the states and territories are taking different approaches to achieve universal access to early childhood education, including addressing barriers such as distance, cost, cultural appropriateness and convenience for working families.
More information for families
More information for providers of early childhood education and child care services
- Universal access to early childhood education questions and answers for providers of early childhood education and child care services (
PDF 221KB | 
RTF 191KB)
Who do I contact for more information?
States and territories have responsibility for the delivery of preschool and kindergarten in their jurisdictions. As such, please contact the relevant states or territory government department listed below for more information:
State by state fact sheets are also available on the MyChild website.
Improving the Quality of Data on Early Childhood Education
To improve the quality of data on early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy, the following two reports were produced in 2008 and 2009, which map out the landscape of early childhood statistics, with a focus on early childhood education. The reports subsequently informed the development of the National Information Agreement on Early Childhood Education and Care (NIA ECEC), which the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs endorsed on 6 November 2009. This Agreement will facilitate and improve the collection, sharing and reporting of early childhood education and care information. A copy of the NIA ECEC is available for viewing.
- Improving the Quality of Data on Early Childhood Education – Phase One
( PDF 443KB | RTF 513KB)
- Improving the Quality of Data on Early Childhood Education – Phase Two
( PDF 579KB | RTF 704KB)