Submission to the Productivity Commission Early Childhood Education and Care Inquiry

Draft Report: A path to universal early childhood education and care

For more than 40 years SNAICC has advocated for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Productivity Commission in response to the Draft Report: A path to universal early childhood education and care (the draft report).

SNAICC supports the Productivity Commission’s focus on early childhood education and care and the draft recommendations which will strengthen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families’ engagement in culturally centred and high quality early childhood education and care and integrated early years services, as well as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce that are fundamental to these services.

The Productivity Commission made several Information requests in the draft report. This submission responds specifically to Information requests 2.2, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2, 9.1 and 9.2 as the most relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families. However, SNAICC is willing and available to provide further information and expertise across other Information request areas if requested.

Self-Determination

SNAICC advocates for the full enactment of self-determination in all legislation, policies, and strategies. Self-determination describes the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to autonomy and self-governance. The United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous People under UNDRIP connects the capacity of Indigenous peoples to meet their children’s needs with their ability to exercise self-determination.

The Commonwealth Government has taken important steps towards recognising the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to self-determination in matters relating to children. The Safe and Supported, National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021-2031 commits to progressive systems transformation that has Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination at its centre and defines self-determination as:

a collective right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to determine and control their own destiny. It is a right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to exercise autonomy in their own affairs and to maintain and strengthen distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions.

For too long, governments have decided what works and what doesn’t for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities without delivering meaningful and tangible positive change for our children and families. Enacting self-determination is critical to designing and implementing effective policies that achieve better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.