The federal government wants to better serve Australia's youth, namely by better supporting education, welfare and development and wants to ensure better coordination between Commonwealth programs, funding and frameworks that impact early childhood development.
Key stakeholders including industry experts were called in to help devise a new national strategy, to improve early years development for newborns up to the age of five.
Research has shown that the early years of a child's life are essential for their development and continued success throughout their lives. The
2021 Australian Early Developmental Census shows that for the first time since 2009, there has been a decrease in the number of children on track in five domains, including physical health, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognition, as well as general knowledge according to age..
About 45 percent experienced high levels of development vulnerability in at least one area.
