Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026

Dr GARLAND (Chisholm) (09:59): I'm really glad to have this opportunity to speak in continuation on this important piece of legislation, the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026. Our government believes that early childhood education and care is essential work. It is one of the most important jobs in the country, and people in the sector should of course be paid fairly for that work.

We know that, prior to the Albanese government announcing that it would fund a 15 per cent wage increase for early childhood education and care workers, the sector was doing it really tough. Services were delaying expansion plans, closing rooms and limiting enrolments because services couldn't find staff, and workforce retention was a real issue. I spoke previously about the survey that I had undertaken with my electorate on the importance of education and care for children in our wonderful community.

I hosted a forum with the minister and made a submission to the Productivity Commission on behalf of my community based on the feedback that I had received. Education is a really important issue for the people that I'm so lucky to represent. They know, as do I, that education opens doors.

As the Minister for Education has reminded us here in this chamber previously, those who need early education the most are the least likely to be able to access it, and paying our educators and carers what they deserve ultimately does help improve access. It is worth pointing out—and this is something that I have highlighted previously in this place—that those opposite historically have not supported employment measures such as those that we're putting forward today and historically have not supported universal access to early education for all Australians.

That is a really significant point of difference in this place. I'm really proud to be part of a government that is building a future through investing in the next generation, through education. In my very first speech, I spoke about the importance of education, and, since I first had the privilege of representing the people of Chisholm, I have seen the commitment of our government to improving access to education for everyone in this country, whether that be through early education, through school education and funding schools fairly in every state and territory, through vocational education or through higher education at universities.

In government, we've gotten on with making some big and, at times, difficult but important reforms for our next generation of learners, and that reform starts with early childhood education. Our government is committed to making sure that everyone can realise aspiration and opportunity through education, and this bill is of course, another example of how we're doing this.

All children in this country deserve to have early educators and care workers who are paid well, have secure work, can build relationships with children, and get to stay in the jobs they love. This is so good for children and families. A stable workforce, we know, is the foundation of quality early learning, giving children a great start in life.

We should be really proud of the work that we're doing for the country in this place. It is a gift that we have the opportunity to deliver to the next generation of learners, and I'm really proud that we as a government have continued to step up when it comes to giving kids the best possible start in life. This legislation is so important, locking in a historic 15 per cent pay rise for hardworking early childhood educators.

This marks an important step for better wages for the dedicated professionals who help give children a great start in life. We know quality early learning starts with valuing and supporting our educators. This investment recognises their work and helps to continue to attract and retain the skilled workforce families and children rely on every single day right around our country, including, of course, in my wonderful electorate of Chisholm.

Our government is committed, absolutely, to building an early learning system that is high quality, more affordable and available where and when families need it, and this legislation is significant for us to be able to realise that. On that note, I commend this bill to the House.