Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland

25/08/2026

🚗💨 The Western Queensland Road Trip starts now!

Brent and Jae are hitting the road as part of our Kindy Advisory Service initiative — travelling across regional Queensland to connect with early childhood services and share important information about Free Kindy. 💚

Here’s where the journey is taking them:

📍 Day One: Beaudesert, with visits to local services, before heading to Dalby and then Chinchilla for the night.

📍 Day Two: From Chinchilla to the small rural town of Murilla, before continuing on to Roma for the evening.

📍 Day Three: Leaving Roma and heading to Goondiwindi!

And there’s still some availability on the way home from Goondiwindi to Beaudesert. If you’d like Brent and Jae to visit your service along the way, we’d love to hear from you! 👋

Follow along as we share their journey, connect with services and take the Free Kindy message further across Queensland.

🛣️ Next stop… the open road!

Queensland WesternQueensland RegionalQueensland EarlyChildhoodEducation KindyQueensland

24/08/2026

Every independent early learning service has a story.

A story shaped by the children, families and educators who walk through its doors, and by the community it has grown alongside.

Many locally owned services have spent years, and sometimes generations, building trusted relationships within their neighbourhoods.

They understand their communities because they are part of them.

Proudly Independent, Proudly Local is here to share these stories and highlight the people, purpose and commitment behind independent early learning.

Learn more about the campaign today - www.proudlylocal.org.au

Every independent early learning service has a story.

A story shaped by the children, families and educators who walk through its doors, and by the community it has grown alongside.

Many locally owned services have spent years, and sometimes generations, building trusted relationships within their neighbourhoods. They understand their communities because they are part of them.

Proudly Independent, Proudly Local is here to share these stories and highlight the people, purpose and commitment behind independent early learning.

Learn more about our campaign today - www.proudlylocal.org.au

Australian Childcare Alliance South Australia ACA Western Australia Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland ACA NSW ACA Victoria

22/08/2026

⏰ 3 weeks to go! ⏰

Our Learning and Development Day is heading to Roma on 12 September 2026, and seats are filling fast!

Join fellow early childhood educators for a day of professional learning, connection and inspiration at the Ernest Room, Roma Bungil Cultural Centre — all for just $49.

A huge thank you to Maranoa Regional Council, Origin Energy, The Fraser Foundation and Rex Airlines for supporting this event, and to the Queensland Department of Education for contracting and funding ACA Queensland to bring this day to our Roma community.

Tickets are selling fast — don't miss out! 🎟️ Secure your spot now: https://zcu.nu/RUg

📍 Ernest Room, Roma Bungil Cultural Centre 📅 Saturday, 12 September 2026 💵 $49 per ticket

18/08/2026

Meet the early learning centres that make up the heart of your Queensland community. 💛

Today, the Australian Childcare Alliance launched Proudly Independent, Proudly Local — a new national campaign shining a spotlight on Australia's 3,000 independently owned early learning centres, including so many right here in Queensland.

79% of these providers run just one centre. That means when you drop your child off, chances are you're supporting a genuine local small business — one connected to your suburb, your school, your community.

Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland thinks that's worth protecting. Our new media release looks at why independent providers need to be recognised in policy and funding decisions, and what's at stake for choice and diversity in early learning if they're not.

👉 Read the media release: https://childcarealliance.org.au/latestnews/aca-new-advocacy-campaign
🌐 Find out more: www.proudlylocal.org.au

MEDIA RELEASE | Our new campaign shines a light on small business early learning centres.

Today, the ACA launched Proudly Independent, Proudly Local—a national campaign recognising the contribution of Australia’s 3,000 independently owned early learning centres.

With 79% of providers operating just one service, many independent early learning centres are small businesses deeply connected to the children, families and communities they support.

Our media release explores why these providers must be recognised in policy and funding decisions, and why protecting their future is essential to preserving choice and diversity across Australia’s early learning sector.

Read our full media release: https://childcarealliance.org.au/latestnews/aca-new-advocacy-campaign

Learn more about our campaign: www.proudlylocal.org.au

Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland
Australian Childcare Alliance South Australia ACA Western Australia ACA Victoria ACA NSW

17/08/2026

"It's given me the confidence to keep growing."

During a recent visit to Bloom Early Learning in Kingaroy, our Kindy Advisory Service caught up with Nominated Supervisor Michelle, who shared how much of a difference the Qualifications Pathways Program (QPP) has made to her career.

QPP is a Queensland Department of Education initiative that combines a scholarship with mentoring, coaching and practicum support — helping early childhood educators study towards a Certificate III, Diploma, Bachelor or Graduate Diploma while they keep working.

In priority locations like Kingaroy, programs like QPP are helping close the gap on qualified educators where they're needed most — and Michelle's story shows exactly why that support matters.

🎥 Watch the video to hear Michelle's experience in her own words.

A big thank you to the Queensland Department of Education for backing our educators through QPP.

Know an educator thinking about upgrading their qualification? Tag them below, or find out more via the link in the comments.

10/08/2026

📣 Speaker Spotlight: Caroline Fewster

Thrilled to welcome Caroline Fewster (Caroline Fewster Consulting) as a speaker for the Learning and Development Day in Roma!

Caroline brings decades of early childhood expertise — from her early days as a pre-school teacher in the ACT, through advisory roles with education authorities, to consulting for organisations and government bodies across the sector.

She'll present Creating a Particular Place for Joy in Early Childhood Education, drawing on her deep experience training and mentoring educators to bring joy back into everyday practice.

Caroline joins host Brent Stokes and fellow speakers Chris Phoenix and Sandi Phoenix for a day of learning built for our regional early childhood workforce.

📅 Saturday 12 September 2026
📍 Ernest Room, Roma Bungil Cultural Centre
🎟️ Only $49 a ticket

Register now — spots are limited: https://zcu.nu/RUg

Thanks to our sponsors Maranoa Regional Council, Origin Energy and The Fraser Foundation. Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland is contracted and funded by the Queensland Department of Education.

06/08/2026

📢 Please note: The Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland office will be closed on Monday, 10 August 2026 for the Logan Region Ekka Show Holiday.

We'll reopen Tuesday, 11 August 2026 with normal business hours. Thanks for your patience, and enjoy the long weekend!

04/08/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us across Queensland for our Sector Update Events — the turnout and conversations at every stop made it clear how much our members value staying informed and connected. 💙

We know not everyone could make it in person, so we're taking the Sector Update straight to your screen.

Join us online on Tuesday, 11 August, 12:30pm–2:00pm for the same key updates, sector insights, and Q&A — covering child safety & reportable conduct, kindy funding essentials, workforce strategy, regulatory priority areas and more.

Register now: https://zcu.nu/CAE

03/08/2026

Some of our Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland team recently crossed the Tasman!

Committee members Pam and Louise, along with EGM Carly, attended the Early Childhood Council(ECC) Conference in Wellington, New Zealand, to see what our neighbours are doing in the ECEC space.

It's a two-way street — back in June, ECC CEO Simon Laube attended our conference at BCEC, along with Joelene Waugh representing the University of Auckland as an ECC member.

We're big believers in the value of connecting with other organisations across the sector.

These relationships open doors to new ideas and perspectives that ultimately make us a stronger, better-informed association for our members.

A huge thank you to the ECC for such a warm welcome and for sharing their conference with us in full. 🙌

31/07/2026

SAVE THE DATE! The Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland National Conference is heading back to The Star Gold Coast, 11–13 June 2027

After an incredible year in Brisbane, we're bringing the region's biggest early childhood education and care event back to the Gold Coast — bigger, bolder and better than ever.

Mark your calendars now, with more to come on workshops, AP Panel Discussions, our Trade Hall, Gala Dinner and more.

Want to get involved in 2027? We're building our program right now — register your interest as an exhibitor, sponsor or speaker, or suggest a topic or speaker you'd love to see.

Register your interest: https://zcu.nu/8LA

Proudly supported by our conference partners, Guild Insurance and Child Care Super.