May 8th, 2026
Latest News
The Federal Minister for Education (the Hon Jason Clare MP) has announced the creation of a new National Early Education & Care Commission (NEECC) to address:
oversupply of services
undersupply of services
affordability
accessibility
... while also in the context of child safety reforms, service quality and long-term sustainabilty.
The Federal Government will begin consulting with the sector about the NEECC as its next step. And it would appear that the NEECC will be separate to ACECQA.
Oversupply in many parts of New South Wales was formally confirmed by the ACCC when it published its interim report in 2022, proving that oversupply pushes up fees to parents by 40% or more.
A catalyst of oversupply is also the NSW State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) (Transport and Infrastructure) (formerly and first introduced as the NSW SEPP (Educational Establishments and Child Care Facilities) in 2017). These SEPPs also took away significant powers from NSW local governments.
While details from the Federal Government (and state/territory governments) about the proposed NEECC remain limited, ACA National has issued our cautious public response in anticipation of genuine reform of such issues that have been championed first by ACA and ACA NSW over the last 10 years.
For any further information/clarification, please reach out to the ACA NSW team via 1300 556 330 or nsw@childcarealliance.org.au.
PUBLISHED: 7 MARCH 2026
