Families across the Hibiscus Coast may soon benefit from a wider range of home-based early childhood education (ECE) options, as the Government has announced regulatory changes aimed at easing constraints on local providers.

These changes, set to take effect from 1 January 2025, are intended to make it easier for providers to operate, maintain compliance, and meet the growing demand for flexible ECE services.

Associate Education Minister David Seymour shared that feedback from ECE providers highlighted excessive administrative demands.

“I have heard from providers that some of the red tape around home-based ECE care is too onerous and makes them spend too much time on compliance,” Seymour stated.

One of the significant changes involves educator qualification requirements.

Currently, 60% of educators in home-based ECE must hold a Level 4 qualification, with the remaining 40% working toward qualifications.

A planned increase to an 80% qualification threshold in 2025 has now been cancelled.

Instead, the revised regulation will require all educators to be either fully qualified or enrolled in a training programme within six months of starting.

Seymour noted that this flexibility will allow more educators to enter the field and support sustained growth in the sector.

Funding adjustments accompany these changes.

From January, all licensed home-based providers will receive a standardised quality funding rate, replacing the current system that ties funding to the number of qualified educators on staff.

This shift is designed to provide consistent financial support to providers, particularly smaller services that may struggle to meet existing compliance requirements.

In a further move to reduce constraints, coordinators (also known as “persons responsible”) will now be allowed to oversee more than two licensed services per month, a change that gives providers more staffing flexibility.

“These changes, which I expect to be made by the end of this year, are part of our effort to reduce red tape in the early learning sector,”

Seymour said, adding that the Ministry for Regulation is reviewing the ECE sector’s regulatory framework to address broader issues.