Latest News

Family Day Care Australia was proud to announce the 2024 Educator, Coordinator and Service of the Year on Saturday 23 November 2024, after a fantastic Awards Season, that saw more than 5,000 nominations placed!

FDCA has named the National Finalists in the 2024 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards. We are proud to name four educators, coordinators and services that have all been selected as National Finalists in this year’s awards.

FDCA is thrilled to announce our Star Award Winners for the 2024 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards! The Emerging and Perpetual Star Award recognise educators, coordinators and services that are new to the sector or role and those who have shown dedication over several years.

FDCA is pleased to announce the 2024 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards Regional Educator Winners! Congratulations to all 71 Regional Educator Winners, who have been recognised for their outstanding work and dedication, in early childhood education and care.

The Australian Government has released the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry into Early Childhood Education and Care’s “A path to universal early childhood education and care: Final report”.

On Wednesday 14 February 2024, FDCA placed a submission in response to the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry into Early Childhood Education and Care “A path to universal early childhood education and care: Draft report”.

FDCA Chief Executive Officer Andrew Paterson spoke with ABC radio on 8 February 2024 about the recently released ACCC final report into early childhood education and care, welcoming the ACCC's recognition of FDCA's position that the current fee cap is inadequate for family day care.

On 25 January 2024, FDCA submitted our Pre-Budget considerations for 2024-2025 to the Australian Government. The submission recommends four key investment measures to support the continued viability of a sector that is highly valued for its flexible, responsive and affordable ECEC.

Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) has proudly announced the National Winners in the 2023 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards.

Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) has today named the National Finalists in the 2023 Family Day Care Australia Excellence in Family Day Care Awards. FDCA is proud to name four educators, coordinators and services that have all been selected as National Finalists in this year’s awards.

Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) is pleased to reveal this year's Star Award winners in the Excellence in Family Day Care Awards! Congratulations to the educators, coordinators and services that have been selected as emerging and perpetual stars!

Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) is excited to announce the 2023 Regional Winners in the Excellence in Family Day Care Awards! We would like to say congratulations to all 71 Regional Educator Winners and are proud to recognise the meaningful and unparalleled work that they do as early learning professionals.

Nominations for the 2023 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards are now open!

Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) is excited to announce the launch of our new myFDCA App. We're putting our range of exclusive member benefits in the palm of your hand to access anytime, anywhere for FREE!

From May 1-7 thousands of educators, service staff, families and children will be taking part in National Family Day Care Week celebrations across Australia to mark the 11th anniversary of the annual week that highlights the important role family day care educators and services play in the development and wellbeing of over 85,000 Australian children.

Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) made a submission to the Commonwealth Government Department of Treasury on Friday 27 January 2023, outlining key funding priorities to support and ensure the long-term viability of the family day care sector.As per our previous submission, the FDCA Pre-Budget Submission for 2023-2024 contains four recommended investment measures...

After another incredible Awards season, with over 3,400 nominations received, Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) was thrilled to announce our 2022 Educator, Coordinator and Service of the Year! The announcement of our 2022 National Winners took place at the FDCA National Conference Gala Dinner in Hobart, hosted by Nova Peris OAM.

The Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) 2022 National Conference, one of the biggest events on the early childhood calendar, begins this week in Hobart. Celebrating its tenth year, the 2022 National Conference brings together family day care professionals and early childhood education and care experts for three days of networking, workshops and plenary sessions.

On 17 October 2022 FDCA made a submission to the Senate inquiry into the Family Assistance Legislation (Cheaper Child Care) Bill 2022. In addition to responding to the overall intent and specific points in the draft legislation, we took the opportunity to again highlight the key issues affecting affordability of family day care for parents and viability of the sector as a whole.

Following a survey of members’ views on the key issues, FDCA made a submission to the federal Department of Education’s Hourly CCS Rate Cap consultation in October 2022. The Hourly rate cap consultation was initiated by the Government to better understand the perspectives of the early childhood education and care sector on...

Family day care educators across the country are being celebrated for excellence in early childhood education and care, in the 2022 Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) Excellence in Family Day Care Awards. Educators from 69 regions across Australia have been recognised this week as Regional Educator Winners in the Excellence in Family Day Care Awards.

The Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) 2022 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards are officially open for nominations! As the only event of its kind, the Excellence in Family Day Care Awards celebrate the sector on a national level and recognise the extraordinary achievements of family day care services, coordinators and educators each year.

Celebrating its tenth birthday, National Family Day Care Week acknowledges family day care as an essential part of the early learning landscape across the country. Currently, Family Day Care Australia's national network of members in the sector forms one of Australia’s largest networks of women in small business.

In the lead up to the 2022 election, FDCA surveyed members on their views about issues relating to the family day care sector. Based on members’ feedback we developed a set of pre-election commitment requests to send to the major Australian political parties in March 2022.

In response to the Australian Government’s call for submissions regarding priorities for the 2022-2023 Federal Budget, Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) lodged a submission to Treasury on behalf of our members on Friday 28 January 2022.

Today we bring you the last of Family Day Care Australia's (FDCA) three-part series of bulletins sharing with you our Member Initiatives and Key Projects over the year that’s been.

Today we bring you the second of Family Day Care Australia's (FDCA) three-part series of bulletins sharing with you our Member Initiatives and Key Projects over the year that’s been.

Today we bring you the first instalment in Family Day Care Australia's (FDCA) three-part series sharing with you some of our Key Initiatives and projects overthe year that’s been.

FDCA’s Election Policy Commitments is a chance to provide the Leaders of Australia’s major political parties, along with relevant Ministers and Shadow Ministers,with a proposed series of targeted initiatives that will increase the capacity of the family day care sector and ensure long-term viability.

Inspired by our members and their families, Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) has developed a brand-new electronic storybook (E-Book) narrating a child’s first day of family day care! The E-Book is designed to support the transition of children into care and showcase the natural approach to play and discovery that family day care nurtures.

Family Day Care Australia’s (FDCA) National Engagement Program is back for 2022 and places are now officially open! Helping our members access premium professional development and learning, while providing opportunities to network with fellow family day care professionals and discuss the issues that matter to you, is an important part of the work that we do as your national peak body.

Our final round of National Finalists is here! Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) is pleased to reveal our Educator National Finalists for 2021.

Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) is thrilled to reveal our Service National Finalists for 2021!

Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) is proud to announce our Coordinator National Finalists for 2021.

Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) is excited to announce our 2021 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards, Perpetual Star Award Winners! The Perpetual Star Award honours an educator, coordinator and service that has contributed to the family day care sector for a period of time of 15 years or more and continues to thrive.

FDCA has the enormous privilege of announcing our 2021 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards, Emerging Star Award Winners! The Emerging Star Award category celebrates an educator, coordinator and service that is new to the family day care sector but has made a big impact in a short amount of time.

Cue the drum roll! Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) can at last announce our final round of Regional Educator Award Winners in the 2021 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards. Congratulations to all 24 of our ACT and NSW Regional Educator Winners! We are proud to recognise your dedication, passion and commitment to continuous improvement.

Congratulations to all 18 of our SA and WA Regional Educator Winners. Your nurturing, natural approach to quality early childhood education and care shines a light on the unique benefits of our sector for so many Australian families and children.

Congratulations to all 16 of our TAS and VIC Regional Educator Winners. We are thrilled to highlight your outstanding work and your ongoing commitment to excellence.

Following a record-breaking 5,200 nominations, Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) congratulates all 11 of our NT and QLD Regional Educator Winners!

Do you know an educator, coordinator or service that deserves to be recognised for the contributions they make to delivering quality outcomes for children? If the answer is yes, make sure you get your nominations in before Sunday 13 June 2021. Your nomination can play a major role in the Award submission review process.

Now in its tenth year, the Awards are the only program of its kind celebrating the family day care sector across Australia. It’s our chance to showcase the stories and achievements of educators, coordinators and services and promote family day care as the natural choice in early childhood education and care for more Australian families.

As part of the 2019 National Quality Framework (NQF) Review process, a second phase of national consultation was put forward with the release of the Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (CRIS). The proposals put forward in the CRIS could result in changes being made to the Education and Care Services National Law, the Education and Care Services National Regulations or guidance materials covering the application of the legislation.

It’s officially National Family Day Care Week, one of the biggest events on the family day care calendar showcasing the incredible and valuable work of coordinators, educators and services across the country.

Following a record-breaking 2020 Awards season, the National Winners were announced on Saturday 27 February 2021 at the Midnight Hotel in Canberra during the 2020 Awards Dinner.

Family Day Care Australia was disappointed by the stories run across various news outlets over the weekend. This coverage regarding a small group of unscrupulous 'operators' continues to unfairly taint the reputation of our sector, which is made up of fantastic educators and services that go above and beyond to support families and provide high quality outcomes for children all across Australia.

Family Day Care Australia is proud today to release an industry-first study into the family day care workforce in Australia: Attracting the next generation of family day care educators. The study, which drew on the feedback and insights of 1,288 current family day care educators across Australia, explored the current socio-demographic profile of family day care educators.