National Partnership

National Partnership Agreement on the National Quality Agenda for Early Childhood Education and Care

In December 2009, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to a National Partnership between the Commonwealth and State and Territory Governments to establish a National Quality Agenda for Early Childhood Education and Care.

Through this Agreement, the Commonwealth and the States and Territories are working together to implement the National Quality Agenda for Early Childhood Education and Care.

The National Partnership Agreement is contributing to achieving the following outcomes agreed to by COAG:

1. children are born and remain healthy
2. children’s environments are nurturing, culturally appropriate and safe
3. children have the knowledge and skills for life and learning
4. children benefit from better social inclusion and reduced disadvantage, especially Indigenous children
5. children are engaged in and benefiting from educational opportunities
6. families are confident and have the capabilities to support their children’s development
7. quality early childhood development services that support the workforce participation choices of families.

The National Partnership has helped establish a unified National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care and Outside School Hours Care services, replacing existing separate licensing and quality assurance processes. In particular, by ensuring high quality early childhood education and care, it is contributing to improving outcomes for all children, and especially for those children from disadvantaged or at-risk backgrounds.