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1. What was proposedThomas EmersonIndependent · Crossbench
   Read the original wording (530 words)

   That this Assembly: (1) notes that: (a) there are many diligent and professional early childhood education and care (ECEC) educators across the ACT who deserve greater support, acknowledgment and appreciation for their work; (b) documents released on 24 December 2025 have exposed poor practice in some parts of the ECEC sector that has jeopardised children’s safety; and (c) Productivity Commission data shows the ACT has the least qualified and experienced ECEC sector in Australia, the second-highest rate of Education and Care Services National Law (National Law) breaches and the second-lowest proportion of service quality rating assessments or reassessments in 2025; (2) further notes that: (a) Set up for Success: An Early Childhood Strategy for the ACT does not focus on child safety and safeguarding measures; (b) the ACT is the only Australian jurisdiction without an online portal for verifying Working With Vulnerable People (WWVP) cards; (c) the ACT has not fined any ECEC providers for breaching the National Law, despite egregious and repeated breaches at some centres; (d) on 22 August 2025, Australia’s Education Ministers agreed to triple fines under the National Law, but the ACT has never set up a mechanism to impose these fines; (e) Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia maintain public registers of compliance enforcement actions in the ECEC sector, but the ACT does not; (f) many centres have not had their National Quality Standard (NQS) rating reassessed for several years, despite changing hands and/or repeatedly breaching the National Law since their last assessment; and (g) the unimpeded corporatisation of the sector means profit is being prioritised over children’s safety and wellbeing in some centres; (3) calls on the Government to: (a) update the early childhood strategy with a renewed focus on child safety and safeguarding measures; (b) establish an online portal for verifying WWVP card numbers; (c) start fining ECEC providers for egregious and repeated child safety breaches; (d) increase transparency for families by establishing a public register of compliance enforcement actions; (e) increase professional development support in the sector to ensure staff training supports best practice; (f) revisit and clarify ratio requirements to ensure adequate supervision, including regarding the use of under-the-roof ratios and the inclusion of students and trainees in ratio calculations; (g) develop scope-of-practice guidelines for students and trainees; (h) deliver land-use reforms that support locally-run ECEC centres, including more long-term peppercorn leases and concessional land releases for not-for-profit centres, and planning restrictions to protect small locally-run providers from being cannibalised by large conglomerates; (i) explore options to cap centres’ surplus revenue to ensure sufficient investment back into service quality and the workforce; (j) strengthen information-sharing capabilities and obligations across government while simplifying reporting lines for educators and providers; (k) end the practice of service approval transfers; (l) introduce mandatory NQS reassessments within six months of an ECEC centre facing regulatory enforcement action; and (m) increase resourcing to Children’s Education and Care Assurance; and (4) further calls on the Government to: (a) update the Assembly on its progress in implementing these measures by the first sitting week of September 2026; and (b) provide a further update and table the updated early childhood strategy by the second sitting week of 2027.

2. Proposed changeLaura NuttallGreens · Crossbench24 February 2026

   Grouped by key words as: added a new call or point, added reporting or consultation, added conditions.

   Before

   (c) start fining ECEC providers for egregious and repeated child safety breaches

   After this change

   (c) establish the appropriate mechanism to enforce fines against ECEC providers for egregious and repeated child safety breaches, in accordance with National Law;

   The exact wording of this change

   together: 1. In paragraph (3), after “calls on the Government to”, insert: “evaluate the following list of proposed reforms, consult with the sector, families and experts and implement these actions if they are found to be positive for ECEC in the ACT on balance:”. 2. Omit paragraph (3)(c), substitute: “(c) establish the appropriate mechanism to enforce fines against ECEC providers for egregious and repeated child safety breaches, in accordance with National Law;”. 3. In paragraph (3)(f), omit “use”, substitute: “insufficiency”. Debate continued.

   Agreed on the voices. No individual votes were recorded. Its wording is in the final text.

3. Change to Laura Nuttall's changeElizabeth LeeLiberal · Opposition24 February 2026

   Grouped by key words as: added a new call or point.

   The exact wording of this change

   to Miss Nuttall’s amendments: Add: 4. Omit paragraphs (3)(h) and (i), substitute: “(h) explore land use reforms that support locally-run ECEC centres, including providing more long-term peppercorn leases and concessional land releases for not-for-profit centres;”. Debate continued.

   Not agreed in a recorded vote, 9 to 16.

   Ayes 9

   • Chiaka Barry, Peter Cain, Leanne Castley, Ed Cocks, Jeremy Hanson, Elizabeth Lee, James Milligan, Deborah Morris, Mark Parton

   Noes 16

   • Andrew Barr, Marisa Paterson, Yvette Berry, Michael Pettersson, Chris Steel, Tara Cheyne, Rachel Stephen-Smith, Caitlin Tough, Taimus Werner-Gibbings, Suzanne Orr
   • Andrew Braddock, Shane Rattenbury, Jo Clay, Laura Nuttall
   • Fiona Carrick, Thomas Emerson
4. What the Assembly decidedAgreed

   Decided on the voices: no individual votes were recorded, so this doesn’t show that every MLA agreed.

   Final agreed wording, with changes marked

   That this Assembly: (1) notes that: (a) there are many diligent and professional early childhood education and care (ECEC) educators across the ACT who deserve greater support, acknowledgment and appreciation for their work; (b) documents released on 24 December 2025 have exposed poor practice in some parts of the ECEC sector that has jeopardised children’s safety; and (c) Productivity Commission data shows the ACT has the least qualified and experienced ECEC sector in Australia, the second-highest rate of Education and Care Services National Law (National Law) breaches and the second-lowest proportion of service quality rating assessments or reassessments in 2025; (2) further notes that: (a) Set up for Success: An Early Childhood Strategy for the ACT does not focus on child safety and safeguarding measures; (b) the ACT is the only Australian jurisdiction without an online portal for verifying Working With Vulnerable People (WWVP) cards; (c) the ACT has not fined any ECEC providers for breaching the National Law, despite egregious and repeated breaches at some centres; (d) on 22 August 2025, Australia’s Education Ministers agreed to triple fines under the National Law, but the ACT has never set up a mechanism to impose these fines; (e) Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia maintain public registers of compliance enforcement actions in the ECEC sector, but the ACT does not; (f) many centres have not had their National Quality Standard (NQS) rating reassessed for several years, despite changing hands and/or repeatedly breaching the National Law since their last assessment; and (g) the unimpeded corporatisation of the sector means profit is being prioritised over children’s safety and wellbeing in some centres; (3) calls on the Government to evaluate the following list of proposed reforms, consult with the sector, families and experts and implement these actions if they are found to be positive for ECEC in the ACT on balance:Nuttall (a) update the early childhood strategy with a renewed focus on child safety and safeguarding measures; (b) establish an online portal for verifying WWVP card numbers; (c) establish the appropriate mechanism to enforce fines against ECEC providers for egregious and repeated child safety breaches, in accordance with National LawNuttall; (d) increase transparency for families by establishing a public register of compliance enforcement actions; (e) increase professional development support in the sector to ensure staff training supports best practice; (f) revisit and clarify ratio requirements to ensure adequate supervision, including regarding the insufficiencyNuttall of under-the-roof ratios and the inclusion of students and trainees in ratio calculations; (g) develop scope-of-practice guidelines for students and trainees; (h) deliver land-use reforms that support locally-run ECEC centres, including more long-term peppercorn leases and concessional land releases for not- for-profit centres, and planning restrictions to protect small locally-run providers from being cannibalised by large conglomerates; (i) explore options to cap centres’ surplus revenue to ensure sufficient investment back into service quality and the workforce; (j) strengthen information-sharing capabilities and obligations across government while simplifying reporting lines for educators and providers; (k) end the practice of service approval transfers; (l) introduce mandatory NQS reassessments within six months of an ECEC centre facing regulatory enforcement action; and (m) increase resourcing to Children’s Education and Care Assurance; and (4) further calls on the Government to: (a) update the Assembly on its progress in implementing these measures by the first sitting week of September 2026; and (b) provide a further update and table the updated early childhood strategy by the second sitting week of 2027.

   Original and final wording compared

   taken out put in

   That this Assembly: (1) notes that: (a) there are many diligent and professional early childhood education and care (ECEC) educators across the ACT who deserve greater support, acknowledgment and appreciation for their work; (b) documents released on 24 December 2025 have exposed poor practice in some parts of the ECEC sector that has jeopardised children’s safety; and (c) Productivity Commission data shows the ACT has the least qualified and experienced ECEC sector in Australia, the second-highest rate of Education and Care Services National Law (National Law) breaches and the second-lowest proportion of service quality rating assessments or reassessments in 2025; (2) further notes that: (a) Set up for Success: An Early Childhood Strategy for the ACT does not focus on child safety and safeguarding measures; (b) the ACT is the only Australian jurisdiction without an online portal for verifying Working With Vulnerable People (WWVP) cards; (c) the ACT has not fined any ECEC providers for breaching the National Law, despite egregious and repeated breaches at some centres; (d) on 22 August 2025, Australia’s Education Ministers agreed to triple fines under the National Law, but the ACT has never set up a mechanism to impose these fines; (e) Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia maintain public registers of compliance enforcement actions in the ECEC sector, but the ACT does not; (f) many centres have not had their National Quality Standard (NQS) rating reassessed for several years, despite changing hands and/or repeatedly breaching the National Law since their last assessment; and (g) the unimpeded corporatisation of the sector means profit is being prioritised over children’s safety and wellbeing in some centres; (3) calls on the Government to [put in: evaluate the following list of proposed reforms, consult with the sector, families and experts and implement these actions if they are found to be positive for ECEC in the ACT on balance:](a) update the early childhood strategy with a renewed focus on child safety and safeguarding measures; (b) establish an online portal for verifying WWVP card numbers; (c) [taken out: start fining][put in: establish the appropriate mechanism to enforce fines against]ECEC providers for egregious and repeated child safety breaches, [put in: in accordance with National Law;](d) increase transparency for families by establishing a public register of compliance enforcement actions; (e) increase professional development support in the sector to ensure staff training supports best practice; (f) revisit and clarify ratio requirements to ensure adequate supervision, including regarding the [taken out: use][put in: insufficiency]of under-the-roof ratios and the inclusion of students and trainees in ratio calculations; (g) develop scope-of-practice guidelines for students and trainees; (h) deliver land-use reforms that support locally-run ECEC centres, including more long-term peppercorn leases and concessional land releases for [taken out: not-for-profit][put in: not- for-profit]centres, and planning restrictions to protect small locally-run providers from being cannibalised by large conglomerates; (i) explore options to cap centres’ surplus revenue to ensure sufficient investment back into service quality and the workforce; (j) strengthen information-sharing capabilities and obligations across government while simplifying reporting lines for educators and providers; (k) end the practice of service approval transfers; (l) introduce mandatory NQS reassessments within six months of an ECEC centre facing regulatory enforcement action; and (m) increase resourcing to Children’s Education and Care Assurance; and (4) further calls on the Government to: (a) update the Assembly on its progress in implementing these measures by the first sitting week of September 2026; and (b) provide a further update and table the updated early childhood strategy by the second sitting week of 2027.

   Compared word by word by computer, ignoring punctuation. It shows what differs, not which change made each difference; the steps above show that.