Our Submissions

ELAA's submission on the draft National Strategy identifies the unique complexities associated with the ECEC sector and how these compare with other care and support sectors. This includes specific recommendations highlighting how the ECEC sector contributes to the care and support economy and how this can be improved.

All recommendations focus on an ECEC perspective but are applicable to other care and support sectors. Below is a summary of ELAA’s recommendations to the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s draft National Strategy for the Care and Support Economy: manage the market by examining the New Zealand approach and limiting the capacity of services and providers to grow unless they meet or exceed the National Quality Standards

• ensure services that do not meet the National Quality Standards (NQS) are rated annually, and all other services every three years, further strengthening the consistency and regularity of rating against the NQS
• avoid compromising on quality and qualification when addressing workforce shortages
• that the draft National Strategy for the Care and Support Economy advocates for an increase in wages and conditions for the ECEC workforce
• to acknowledge the important role that upskilling the workforce has on worker retention
• streamline the process of visa applications, reducing double handling and making applications accessible for more migrant workers
• for the National Strategy for the Care and Support Economy to actively encourage the implementation of menstruation, perimenopause, and menopause wellbeing policies
• for there to be practical working arrangements such as increased access to toilet breaks during menstruation, for Care and Support workers who often work in roles that limit their ability to access female hygiene products.

ELAA made a submission to Infrastructure Victoria's 30-year Strategy.

We wrote to provide insight into the unique infrastructure needs of the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector. The submission was informed by over 35 years of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and Road Safety Education experience in ECEC and addressed the safety components that come with developing Victoria's infrastructure. 

ELAA's recommendations included:

• managing the market and supporting the community sector to develop and grow through infrastructure investment, including funding innovative solutions to drive growth
• investing in sector development by funding co-located ECEC services, especially in low socio-economic, rural and regional communities
• funding transportation for families in rural and remote areas
• for there to be investment in building affordable housing options to enable educators to fill job vacancies in regional Victoria
• to address the pressures that Airbnb and the Commonwealth Games place on Victorian residents and housing/rental prices
• that a revised design guide for Children’s Services be developed and include reference to the items listed above including siting, and internal and external design issues.