QUICK FACTS
- $5 million to grow the Early Years workforce
- 200 scholarships for Education and Care qualifications
- 20 additional scholarships for speech pathologists and psychologists to secure their employment for a minimum of three years
- Incentives and retention initiatives for ECEC staff who relocate and keep working in remote locations, including Flinders Island, King Island and the West Coast
- Work with all primary and district schools to deliver more Outside of School Hours Care in areas of need
- Using surplus government land for new early childhood and care services
- Four new supersized Child and Family Learning Centres with free access to psychologists, speech pathologists and social workers
- New supersized Child and Family Learning Centres will include early childhood and education services
- Establish an Early Childhood Education and Care workforce roundtable to help grow our workforce quickly
Under our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future, a re-elected majority Liberal Government will:
- Establish an Early Years Workforce Development Fund with $5 million, including scholarships and relocation and retention incentives in remote areas.
- Deliver $10 million to support primary and district schools to establish new onsite Outside-of-School-Hours Care in areas of need.
- Audit Government land and release surplus land for the provision and expansion of new early childhood and education care services.
- Build four new supersized Child and Family Learning Centres that offer the additional space to enable partnering with Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) providers for early education, long day care, vacation care and Outside of School Hours Care, in Huonville, Smithton, Longford and Scottsdale.
- Provide funding for Early Childhood Australia's Tasmanian Branch to assist with strategic issues including workforce development.
An important part of our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania's Future is prioritising the essential services Tasmania needs, to develop stronger communities and enhance our regions.
We recognise that education, especially in the first 1000 days, is the most powerful driver for improving economic and social outcomes in Tasmania, including health, life expectancy, happiness and productivity.
Our strong focus is on giving children the best possible start in life and learning, and improving access to early education, regardless of where you live or family circumstances.
We also understand the importance of access to quality early childhood education and care for working Tasmanian families, and that workforce is a critical factor in growing these services.
Early Years Workforce Development Fund
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will commit $5 million over four years to establish an Early Years Workforce Fund to grow and upskill the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) workforce, ensuring children aged from 0-5 years of age have access to quality early education and health services.
The Fund will deliver:
- 200 Scholarships of $15,000 (Diploma and CERT III) and $30,000 (Bachelors and Masters) per student to undertake an education and care qualification and work with a Tasmanian ECEC service for two years.
- Provide $500,000 to fund 20 additional scholarships for speech pathologists and psychologists to support costs associated with their study and secure their employment with the Tasmanian Government for a minimum of three years.
- Settling incentive of $2,500 for ECEC staff who relocate to work in remote and hard-to-staff locations including Flinders Island, King Island and the West Coast.*
- Retention incentives for staff who remain at the same ECEC provider for longer than three years in a rural, isolated area or hard-to-staff locations, with a $2500 bonus provided for every year of service between years 4-6*.
*This excludes Early Childhood Teachers who are provided with incentives under their existing Award.
More Outside of School Hours Care (OSHC)
OSHC is currently available at more than half of the State’s primary schools and are operated by private providers.
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will make $10 million available to support primary and district schools to establish new onsite OSHC services, in partnership with local ECEC providers.
Within the first 100 days, a re-elected majority Liberal Government will work with all primary and district schools who do not currently offer OSHC to determine the level of need in their community and if the provision of OSHC is right for them.
Access to Government land
We want more ECEC services to be located near or within schools and existing CFLCs.
Within the first 100 days, we will undertake a comprehensive property audit to identify Government land that can be utilised for the expansion of ECEC services, including OSHC and vacation care.
Following this, an expression of interest will be released for sites that are surplus to requirements and deemed appropriate for the provision of ECEC services.
Four new supersized Child and Family Learning Centres
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will invest $32 million to build four new supersized Child and Family Centres (CFLCs) that will offer a range of early childhood services and services and supports for families and children from 0 to 5 years old.
They will be built to National Quality Standard (NQS) requirements so they have the additional space to enable partnering with ECEC providers to deliver early education, long day care and vacation care, and Outside of School Hours care, where there is unmet demand for these services.
As in existing CFLCs, families will also have free access to psychologists, speech pathologists and social workers, ensuring children are meeting their developmental milestones and are well placed to start Kindergarten.
The four new supersized Child and Family Learning Centres will be located at Huonville, Smithton, Longford and Scottsdale.
The range of services offered at each CFLC will be determined through consultation with families and service providers in these local communities.
Early Childhood Australia
The Liberals value the important work being undertaken by Early Childhood Australia’s Tasmanian Branch and our ongoing partnership on strategic issues, including workforce development.
To assist Early Childhood Education (ECA) to continue this important work, a re-elected majority Liberal Government will provide the ECA Tasmanian Branch with $890 000 over three years to employ two project officers to assist with policy development and community partnerships.
As part of this work, we will also establish an Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce Round Table, including ECA and ECEC providers, which will focus on growing our ECEC workforce quickly and sustainably and ensuring strong collaboration and communication between Government and the ECEC sector.
Net Cost: $48 million including $6 million recurrent