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A commitment by the Minister for Social Services, the Hon. Scott Morrison MP, confirmed in a statement today, to improve access to early years services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children has been welcomed by SNAICC, the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.
SNAICC also welcomes the Minister’s commitment to work closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations in developing effective mechanisms for implementation of the Child Care Assistance Package.
SNAICC Deputy Chairperson, Geraldine Atkinson, recently met with Minister Morrison and commented, “We were impressed with the Minister’s understanding of the issues facing our communities and the role of integrated early years services in charting a different path for our children. It was good to hear that the Minister recognises that a one size fits all approach will not work and that he is commited to supporting Indigenous services to respond to their community need.”
“He has expressed his commitment to ensuring that the Child Care Assistance Package provides the necessary long-term supports to redress the current gap in service access for our children. In particular, I am heartened to hear that all current Budget Based Funded early learning services will receive support from the Government to transition to the new child care system and operate efficiently within it. That will be so important for the future of those communities and our little ones in particular.”
SNAICC is encouraged by the Minister’s recognition of the strengths of local Indigenous services. These trusted community controlled integrated early years services are the best model to support strong early childhood outcomes and transition to school for our children. They also provide key family supports, local employment opportunities and genuine community development for communities that need support most.
SNAICC welcomes the opportunity to work with the Department of Social Services to ensure that the package will achieve its goals of improved access and participation for Indigenous children.
For more information please see the Minister’s Media Statement: Better start for Indigenous children.
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For more information please contact:
Dan Kovacevic, Communication Officer, Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care daniel.kovacevic@snaicc.org.au (03) 9489 8099 or
Emma Sydenham, Deputy CEO, emma.sydenham@snaicc.org.au / 0415 188 990
