Opening Statement – NSW Parliamentary Committee Inquiry into the ECEC Sector Georgie Dent, CEO, The Parenthood

Opening Statement – NSW Parliamentary Committee Inquiry into the ECEC Sector

Georgie Dent, CEO, The Parenthood

Thank you, Chair and members of the Committee, for the opportunity to speak today.

I’m here on behalf of The Parenthood, an independent advocacy organisation of more than

85,000 parents and carers across Australia — including thousands here in New South Wales. Every day, many of our members entrust their children to early childhood education and care services.

Right now, there is grief, fear and deep anxiety among parents of young children. It is entirely reasonable for families to expect that, as a baseline, children will be safe in early learning environments. Yet in recent months, too many have discovered that expectation has not been met. Trust has been shaken.

The problem is not just one of regulation or enforcement — it’s structural. 

The current funding model means too few families have genuine choice. Out-of-pocket fees have risen sharply without a commensurate investment in improved quality. Supply is not guided by need. That’s why we have “childcare deserts” in lower-income communities where families can’t afford to pay high fees, alongside areas of oversupply where intense competition can put quality at risk. Families with the highest capacity to pay are often the ones able to access the highest-quality services — which undermines both equity and outcomes for children. But, equally, the highest fees do not always reflect higher quality services.   

This is complex for families to navigate. 

In 2025, it is only the most privileged households who can make ends meet on one income. For the vast majority of families, participation in the paid workforce is essential — and for most, that means relying on some form of formal ECEC. The necessity of ECEC compounds the pressure and anxiety families feel when safety and quality cannot be taken for granted.

We also acknowledge the deep distress and frustration among educators and providers who share parents’ commitment to safety and quality, yet are working in a system under immense strain.

New South Wales has a proud history of leadership in early learning, but the National Quality Framework — one of Australia’s great social policy achievements — is not being implemented as a vehicle for continuous improvement as intended.

• Regulatory authorities are stretched and unable to keep pace with sector growth and complexity.
• Assessment and Rating is inconsistent, with too many services not assessed for years.
• Quality improvement support has diminished.
• Providers with persistent safety or quality failures have been able to operate for years without decisive enforcement action.

These are not isolated issues. Safety, quality, workforce wellbeing, funding and regulation are deeply interconnected — and must be addressed together if reform is to be effective.

A national uplift in quality and safety requires both state and federal government leadership.

Families, educators and services all want a system that is based on safety and high quality. But state and federal governments must play a leadership role in solving the policy and regulatory barriers that are creating quality and safety issues in ECEC. Without this leadership, more children will be put at risk.

Parents are less interested in “who is responsible for what” and far more interested in “what’s being done?” Federation is complex — but leadership is the only antidote.

We urge this Committee to recommend:

1. Fully funding the regulator to deliver timely, comprehensive assessments, clear public reporting and decisive enforcement where standards are not met.
2. Embedding every child’s right to inclusion in law, with the funding, workforce capability and accountability to make it real — so no child is excluded because of disability, complexity or circumstance.
3. Improving safety and quality data so families can understand it, trust it and use it to make informed choices.
4. Taking an active stewardship role to shape sector growth, with targeted investment in high-quality not-for-profit provision in communities of need.
5. Addressing workforce conditions — pay, stability, professional recognition — to make quality sustainable and reduce reliance on waivers that compromise safety and learning.
6. Actively supporting the establishment of an independent National Early Childhood Commission to act as a system steward — ensuring coherence across funding, regulation and service delivery, strengthening national consistency and making children’s safety and learning the non-negotiable centre of the system.

Parents don’t expect perfection. But they do expect that all reasonable steps to keep children safe will be taken. Parents expect that communication will be clear and transparent always - and particularly when something goes wrong. 

Parents expect assertive government oversight to ensure all approved services are meeting the high standards required in a quality early childhood education and care service as a baseline. 

We stand ready to work with you to restore confidence, lift quality and ensure every child in NSW can access early childhood education and care that is safe, inclusive, and life-changing.

Thank you

Georgie Dent

CEO The Parenthood