Senator the Hon Dr Jess Walsh
Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Youth
Parliament House
Canberra
ACT 2600
11 June 2025
Dear Minister Walsh,
Re: Early Childhood Education and Care – Challenges and Opportunities
Congratulations on your appointment. Your leadership arrives at a time of significant reform, ambition and scrutiny within the early learning sector.
There is clear momentum toward improving wages, workforce sustainability, and family access. These are vital and welcome reforms. Yet, we also see systemic pressures that are not always visible at the policy level.
Talent Now provides technology-enabled staffing solutions to the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector. Through our work, we hear firsthand the concerns of educators, service leaders, and providers across the country. We’d like to highlight four areas that we believe warrant greater attention.
1. Financial pressure and policy gaps undermine wage reform
The Fair Work Commission’s move to correct gender-based wage undervaluation is long overdue. However, the Worker Retention Payment (WRP) scheme – designed to support higher wages and limit fee increases – is being undermined by administrative complexity, uneven uptake, and structural limitations.
Many smaller services find the process too burdensome, while others already paying above-award wages now face higher costs with no clear funding advantage. Joining the scheme means locking in further wage rises while staying restricted by a fee cap; opting out means absorbing increases with no support.
Wages are expected to rise significantly before the scheme ends in November 2026 – likely exceeding the funding and fee cap. Yet there is no clarity on what happens next.
The intent was sound, but in practice, the scheme risks entrenching inequity and placing more pressure on services already doing the right thing.
2. Training shortfalls are driving workforce instability
The integrity of ECEC qualifications remains a critical concern. Too many educators are entering the workforce with credentials that do not adequately reflect the knowledge or practical experience required for the role – affecting confidence, fit, and long-term retention.
The use of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is problematic. We see RTOs issuing Certificate III and Diploma qualifications with limited evidence of prior training, experience or skills. International students, in particular, are paying a high price for low-quality training.
Graduate Diplomas, while a legitimate pathway to Early Childhood Teaching, offer significantly less training and practical preparation than a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education. This gap leaves some graduates technically qualified but lacking the depth of preparation expected for teaching roles.
This mismatch between qualification and capability erodes trust in the training system and complicates recruitment. Without stronger oversight, tighter RPL controls, and more consistent practicum standards, the sector will struggle to recruit and retain staff – not for lack of people, but for lack of preparation.
3. A national Working with Children Check is urgently needed
Each state and territory currently operate its own Working with Children Check, with varying levels of rigour and efficiency. This fragmentation creates unnecessary burden for educators and services, particularly those working across jurisdictions.
We support the Royal Commission’s call for a nationally consistent system. The NSW model – with real-time monitoring and streamlined employer verification – offers a strong foundation for national adoption. A single, recognised check would enhance child safety, reduce duplication, and support a more mobile, responsive workforce.
4. Regulatory oversight needs stronger enforcement and smarter planning
Recent media investigations have highlighted frustration among providers and families over inconsistent enforcement of serious breaches and allowing providers with poor compliance histories to open new services. This undermines public confidence and disadvantages those committed to quality.
New services are frequently approved in areas already well serviced – without adequate consideration of community need or the viability of existing services. This creates unnecessary competition, drives staff turnover, and risks diluting quality across the board.
A more strategic approach is needed – one that strengthens enforcement, improves transparency, and ensures new approvals support, rather than destabilise the sector.
We recognise the government’s efforts to engage with the sector, and we applaud the progress already made. We raise these issues in the spirit of practical contribution. Talent Now is committed to supporting a strong, high-quality early learning workforce, and would welcome the opportunity to be part of future discussions on workforce sustainability and staffing innovation.
Liddy Korner
Founder & CEO
Talent Now
