NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2026 EXCELLENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AWARDS NOW OPEN! https://www.eeceawards.com.au/ Nominations to close at 11.59 pm on 31 May 2026. Thank you to Guild Insurance, Guild Early Learning, KKTC - RTO 40636, Nova Employment, Huggies & Ranger Jamie Tours for sponsoring and supporting these Awards for 2026! The Excellence in Early Childhood Education Awards is upon us, and we cannot wait to celebrate your achievements with you! We will be honouring services, leaders, teams, educators, teachers and more as they showcase the importance and benefits of early childhood education! The Awards program continues to be the pinnacle for the recognition of individuals, teams and services who have made extraordinary contributions in early childhood education and care. There is a wide range of categories that services may enter, and your service may enter one or more categories. The winners are selected by an independent panel of experienced and expert judges who are representatives from across the sector. The award winners will be announced at the Fullerton Hotel on Saturday, 12 September 2026. So start planning now for this big evening and it could be your service(s), educators and teachers on stage accepting one or more Awards! Do not miss this opportunity for your service and team to be recognised for your dedication and commitment towards the children you develop, nurture, educate and care for, their families and the community. @followers

THANK YOU NEWCASTLE MEMBERS! https://nsw.childcarealliance.org.a... ACA NSW held its Regional Meeting for members on Monday evening, 9 February 2026. And in addition to members collegially meeting each other as over 30 different services from the Newcastle region, deep and insightful discussions were held on: • the Fair Work Commission's Gender Undervaluation decision and implementation beginning 1 March 2026; • the Worker Retention Payments after 30 November 2026; • the Child Safety reforms, including mandatory training from 1 February 2026, CCTVs and bans on personal devices; • the new NSW Early Learning Commission as the new NSW Regulatory Authority; • changes to Workers Compensation; • planning for "universal childcare" • future of Inclusion Support Funding vs Thriving Kids vs Foundational Supports; • NQF vs AEDC vs Preschool Outcomes; • NSW payroll taxes; • ACA NSW's NSW Budget 2026 submission; and • ACA National's Federal Budget 2026 submission. For future ACA NSW Regional Meetings, please visit the link above. For future ACA NSW Members-Only Meetings (online and in Sydney), please visit https://nsw.childcarealliance.org.a... And for any further information/clarification, please contact the ACA NSW team via 1300 556 330 or nsw@childcarealliance.org.au

3RD ANNUAL CHILDCARE & EARLY LEARNING LEADERS SUMMIT (5–6 MAY 2026) https://www.nsw.childcarealliance.o... Thanks to our conference partners, ACA NSW will again have two conferences in Sydney for 2026. On 5-6 May 2026, the Childcare & Early Learning Leaders Summit returns to Darling Island, Sydney, with two days of sharp insights, practical takeaways and strategic networking – put together specifically for Approved Providers. This year's topics include: 🔹Charting the 2026 landscape: Policy Shifts, Demand Drivers & Compliance Expectations 🔹Demographics that drive demand 🔹Child safe, compliant-proof, future-ready: Turning compliance into a competitive advantage 🔹More than insurance: Building risk-resilient centres in a higher-scrutiny era 🔹Workforce & operational excellence: Building sustainable operating models 🔹Managing media in a crisis: Lessons from the frontline of childcare 🔹... and so much more! Standard price for the tickets per person is $2,095+GST. Early bird pricing is available. ACA NSW and ACA states' members receive a 38% discount off the standard price. @followers

NEED EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR UPCOMING DAYS OF INTEREST? Are you programming for Australia Day, World Pizza Day, World Love Your Pet Day, Tell a Fairy Tale Day ... ? There are 14 upcoming days of interest in just February, over 200 for the whole year, and we have educational resources for each of them. ACA NSW members can access the educational resources via https://www.nsw.childcarealliance.o... NOTE: your ACA NSW username + password are required. @followers

ACA NSW IS BACK FOR 2026! The Australian Childcare Alliance NSW is officially back open after the Christmas and New Year break, a bit longer given what happened in 2025! And yes, some were even working while on-leave. Today, it is more than business as usual already. Members can contact us via 1300 556 330 or nsw@childcarealliance.org.au during office hours (9.00 am and 5.00 pm). We are looking forward to a big year ahead together! Hopefully, this time, a bit more peaceful? @followers