Office for Early Childhood Development Bill

Second Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (17:10): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation and explanation of clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading them.

Leave granted.

The Bill I introduce today is the Office for Early Childhood Development Bill 2024 to provide for the Office for Early Childhood Development and set out its functions and powers.

On 27 August 2023 the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care, led by the Hon. Julia Gillard AC, made 43 recommendations for reform, aimed at improving child learning and development.

These recommendations set out a plan to give every child the best start to life and envisioned a future in which every child can thrive and learn through getting the support they need.

The Government has committed to action on all recommendations, setting an ambitious goal for South Australia to become a national leader in early childhood development.

At the heart of this is our commitment to providing universal access to quality, teacher-led preschool from the age of 3, growing and sustaining a quality workforce, and greater supports and connected services to better align with the needs of children.

Recommendation 2 of the Royal Commission was that the Government should introduce new legislation establishing the Office for Early Childhood Development as a steward of South Australia's early childhood development system, with a mandate to reduce the proportion of South Australian children who are developmentally vulnerable when starting school.

This Bill will implement this recommendation, enabling the Office to work with all parts of the sector, and broader service systems, to ensure 3- year-old preschool is reliably available and services are integrated and connected for families.

Under the terms of the Bill, the Minister must ensure there is an Office for Early Childhood Development. An attached office was established last year which enabled the Office to start work immediately on delivering the recommendations of the Royal Commission and implementing the government's ambitious early childhood reform agenda.

This work is progressing at pace following the government's historic commitment of an additional $1.9 billion to early childhood services and support over the period to 2032-33. This investment represents a once in a generation commitment to reducing the number of developmentally vulnerable South Australian children.

Through this investment, generations of South Australian children will benefit from quality early learning, setting them up to thrive.

The roll-out of up to 15 hours of a quality preschool program for 3-year olds will be staged from 2026 to 2032, with a focus on increasing accessibility, flexibility and providing quality education and services.

We have designed the roll-out to enable as many children to access 3- year-old preschool as quickly as possible.

The early childhood workforce will be critical to the success of this investment, and the Office is also working in collaboration with government, non-government and Aboriginal community stakeholders to build capacity through workforce attraction and retention initiatives.

The Bill sets out the functions of the Office with the primary function to act as a steward of the State's early childhood development system, with the goal of reducing the proportion of children in the State who are developmentally vulnerable when starting school. The Bill also sets out numerous additional functions to support the Office in stewarding a robust and responsive early childhood system.

These include functions:

to promote universal access to 3- and 4-year-old preschool;

to align supports and services with the needs of children;

to provide overall strategic direction in relation to government early childhood development services;

and to promote the participation of children with disability, and children in care, in the early childhood development system.

The Office has functions to support research in the early childhood development space, noting the government is undertaking further work to carefully consider the Royal Commission's recommendation to develop a new child development data system.

To recognise the unique needs of Aboriginal children, and the evidence heard by the Royal Commission about the need for culturally safe and inclusive early childhood and care services, this Bill includes specific additional functions for the Office in respect of Aboriginal children, and the principles to be upheld in performing these functions.

I am particularly grateful for the advice provided by the Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People to strengthen this element of the Bill.

Under the Bill, the Office for Early Childhood Development will perform these functions having regard to

the principles of Aboriginal self-determination,

the need to partner with Aboriginal communities and organisations,

and the safeguarding and promotion of the cultural identity of Aboriginal children.

I note that the State's First Nation Voice to Parliament engaged deeply with the Bill. The Voice provided lengthy feedback which resulted in a meeting attended by the Minister for Education Training and Skills, Chief Executive of the Office for Early Childhood Development and staff of the Office and the department to discuss the overall intent of the legislation, and in particular, the OECD initiatives which specifically relate to Aboriginal children and families. A further meeting was subsequently convened to discuss, and agree, the proposals for Government amendments which were ultimately passed in the other place.

In enacting feedback from the Voice, a key amendment was the change to the earlier definition of Aboriginal child to also include a reference to Aboriginal person to reflect their views that the importance of recognising family and community should be included in the legislation. Other amendments clarified and strengthened various functions of the Office and will also ensure any Committee established under the Bill will include a member that is an Aboriginal person.

The Bill was subject to consultation with a broad range of stakeholders, including peak representatives of the early childhood sector, universities, and representatives of the Aboriginal and multicultural communities.

Consultation elicited strong support for the Bill and enthusiasm for the role of the Office and more broadly, for the implementation of the transformational reforms committed to by the Malinauskas government to ensure a fairer, better future for South Australian children.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

These clauses are formal.

3—Interpretation

This clause defines key terms and phrases in the measure.

4—Meaning of early childhood development system

This clause defines the term 'early childhood development system' for the purposes of the measure.

Part 2—Office for Early Childhood Development

5—Office for Early Childhood Development

This clause requires the Minister to ensure that an Office for Early Childhood Development exists in the State.

6—Functions

This clause sets out functions of the Office for Early Childhood Development under the measure.

7—Additional functions and principles in respect of Aboriginal children

This clause sets out additional functions of the Office for Early Childhood Development in relation to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children.

8—Committees

This clause enables the Chief Executive of the Office for Early Childhood Development or the Minister to establish committees to advise the Office for Early Childhood Development.

9—Delegation

This clause is a standard power of delegation.

Part 3—Information gathering and sharing

10—Chief Executive may require State authority to provide report

This clause allows the Chief Executive of the Office for Early Childhood Development to require certain State authorities to provide the Chief Executive with reports in relation to specified matters that may assist the Office in the performance of functions under this measure.

11—Chief Executive may require information

This clause allows the Chief Executive of the Office for Early Childhood Development to require specified entities to provide the Chief Executive with information and documents in relation to specified matters.

12—Sharing of information between certain entities

This clause allows the entities specified to exchange information that would assist in the performance of the entities' functions as they relate to the matters specified in subclause (2). The clause also protects against the use of the information or documents for other purposes.

13—Interaction with Public Sector (Data Sharing) Act 2016

This clause clarifies that the measure does not affect the Public Sector (Data Sharing) Act 2016.

Part 4—Miscellaneous

14—False and misleading statements

This clause creates an offence for a person to make false or misleading in statements in information provided under this measure.

15—Confidentiality

This clause creates offences for the unlawful disclosure of certain information obtained under the measure.

16—Victimisation

This clause is a standard victimisation clause.

17—Protections, privileges and immunities

This clause sets out the protections, privileges and immunities available to persons under the measure.

18—Regulations and fee notices

This clause is a standard regulation and fee notice making power.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. D.G.E. Hood.