NSW childcare inquiry confirms urgent need to put children before profit

MEDIA STATEMENT

May 20,  2026

NSW childcare inquiry confirms urgent need to put children before profit

The Parenthood welcomes the NSW Legislative Council report into the early childhood education and care sector, which confirms the urgent need for structural reform to ensure every child can access safe, high-quality, inclusive and affordable early learning.

The report makes clear that the current market-led childcare model is failing too many children and families. It calls for an end to the prioritisation of profit over children’s safety, workforce conditions and families’ access to quality early childhood education and care.

The Parenthood CEO Georgie Dent said the report should be treated as a turning point.

“This report confirms what The Parenthood has been saying for years. When profit is the primary driver of childcare, children pay the price. We now need governments to match the courage of this committee and make the structural reforms Australian families deserve.

“This report lays out a path to ensure families have access to early childhood education and care that is high quality, affordable, inclusive and available — regardless of postcode or income.

“The committee’s finding that private equity-backed services have no place in early childhood education and care is one of the strongest statements yet from any parliamentary committee about the risks of commercialisation in this sector.

“For too long, families have been told that childcare is just another market. But this report makes clear that market failure in early childhood education and care has real consequences: children’s safety can be compromised, educators are undervalued and families in low-income, regional and remote communities miss out.

Families and educators need simple, trusted pathways to raise concerns. Reports about child safety should never be lost between agencies, dismissed by providers or dependent on parents knowing how to navigate a complex system.

“Parents should not have to rely on guesswork to understand whether a service is safe, high quality and properly resourced. Families deserve clear, accessible and comparable information about quality, compliance, staffing, ownership and where public subsidies are going,” Ms Dent said.

“We particularly welcome the committee’s focus on children with disability and additional needs. Inclusion cannot depend on whether a service finds it convenient or affordable. Every child must have the support they need to participate safely and fully in early learning.

“We welcome the committee’s recommendation that NSW advocate for a National Early Childhood Education and Care Commission. A national commission is essential to steward the system, plan supply, improve transparency, lift quality and make sure public investment is delivering for children and families.

“We also welcome recommendations to investigate alternative funding models, including direct funding, fee caps and profit caps, as well as stronger transparency around rent and the role of real estate in the sector.

“Public money should be invested in children, educators and quality early learning — not siphoned into excessive rents, corporate profits or opaque financial structures.

The report also recognises that the workforce is the foundation of quality and safety. Early childhood educators need professional wages, paid time for training, manageable workloads and workplaces where they can speak up about safety without fear.

“Families should not have to choose between affordability, availability, inclusion and quality. Every child deserves access to early learning that is safe, nurturing and high quality, no matter where they live, what their parents earn or what additional support they need.

“The NSW and Australian Governments now have a clear blueprint. The task is to act with urgency and build an early childhood education and care system that puts children first.”

The Parenthood is Australia’s leading parent advocacy organisation, representing families nationwide and working to make early childhood education and care safer, more affordable and accessible for every child.