The report, released on Friday 20 February, follows more than 2000 submissions and comments, public hearings, wide ranging consultation with providers of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services and families who use these services and consideration of available data and information, the Commission has reached a number of broad conclusions on ECEC in Australia.
Some of the key findings from the report include:
- The benefits of formal ECEC for child development vary with the age of the child participating
- Quality is important
- Access is an issue for some families
- Taxpayers fund most ECEC
- There is scope to increase parental workforce participation
- Program objectives overlap and administrative arrangements are complex.
The report is available in two volumes from the Australian Government Productivity Commission’s website.
More information
Visit our Productivity Commission website to read more about the Inquiry and access related resources.