The broader context - weaving it all together
National Agreement on Closing the Gap
The South Australian Aboriginal Early Childhood Strategy is grounded in theNational Agreement on Closing the Gap, which provides the overarching framework for shared accountability, outcomes and reform between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Strategy aligns with:
- Outcome 3: Children are engaged in high quality, Culturally appropriate early childhood education in their early years.
- Target 3: By 2025, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children enrolled in Year Before Fulltime Schooling (YBFS) early childhood education to 95%.1
- Outcome 4: Children thrive in their early years.
- Target 4: By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children assessed as developmentally on track in all 5 domains of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) to 55%.
It is also guided by the 4 Priority Reforms of the Agreement, which focus on changing how governments work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples:
- Priority Reform 1: Formal partnerships and shared decision-making
- Priority Reform 3: Transforming government organisations
- Priority Reform 2: Building the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector
- Priority Reform 4: Shared access to data and information at a regional level
By embedding Aboriginal priorities at every stage of reform, the Strategy keeps Closing the Gap at the centre, ensuring Aboriginal children are supported to thrive, connected with Culture, identity and belonging, and able to learn with strength, pride and agency.
Aboriginal children in South Australia – data snapshot
A young and growing population
Aboriginal peoples have a younger age profile than the non-Aboriginal population, with a higher proportion of children in the early years. This reinforces the importance of investing early in Culturally responsive early childhood systems to support lifelong wellbeing, learning and identity.2
South Australia is home to approximately 5,700 Aboriginal children aged 0-4 years and 2,300 preschool aged children in the 2 years before school. The majority of Aboriginal children aged 3-4 years old are enrolled in Government preschools.3
Strong enrolment in 4-year-old preschool (Outcome/Target 3)
In 2024, Productivity Commission data indicated that 93.5% of Aboriginal children in South Australia were enrolled in a preschool program in the YBFS age cohort.
Nationally, enrolment of Aboriginal children in YBFS early childhood education is on track to meet the current Closing the Gap Target 3, with participation increasing significantly since the 2016 baseline year.4
Why reform is still needed (Outcome/Target 4)
In 2024, 28.7% of Aboriginal children commencing school in South Australia were assessed as developmentally on track across all 5 AEDC domains, compared to 53% for all children.5
This highlights the need to move beyond 4-year-old preschool enrolment measures alone and strengthen the quality, Cultural
responsiveness and connectedness of early childhood experiences, particularly in ways that support identity, wellbeing and learning.
Early Childhood Care and Development Policy Partnership (ECCDPP) - a national Closing the Gap forum
The ECCDPP enables Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to work in genuine partnership with governments to drive Community-led, early childhood care and development outcomes.
This Strategy is informed by the work of the ECCDPP which reflects our shared goal that Aboriginal children thrive in Culturally responsive and safe, well-connected environments. This includes:
- incorporating learnings and priorities of the ECCDPP into design
- focusing on Aboriginal-led implementation
- strengthening integrated services
- building workforce capability; and
- embedding authentic local
engagement.
The National Sector Strengthening Plan for Early Childhood Care and Development
The National Sector Strengthening Plan is focused on building the Aboriginal Community-Controlled sectors that address:
- early childhood education and care (ECEC) and integrated supports to children and families to support child development; and
- child protection and family support services that focus on the needs of children and families experiencing vulnerability and/or who are in contact with child protection systems.
The Strategy strongly aligns to this work in its significant investment in the ACCO ECEC sector.
Department for Education
Aboriginal children in South Australia have been entitled to access 12 hours of preschool per week from the age of 3 since 1988, through Department for Education (the department) preschools.
In 2024, as part of the Royal Commission response and recognising the importance of 3-year-old preschool for many Aboriginal families, the government increased its existing offer of preschool for 3-year-old Aboriginal children, from 12 to 15 hours a week in department preschools to align with its universal offering. Like all South Australian children, Aboriginal children are eligible to access 600 hours (15 hours per week) of government preschool in the year before full-time school.
Building on this targeted approach to supporting Aboriginal children and their families, the department also extended its Enter for Success Strategy, so Aboriginal children can enrol in any government preschool.
Recognising the benefits and importance of Aboriginal children developing foundations for success in the early years, the department has set this as a goal of its Aboriginal Education Strategy, 2019 to 2029, along with the following objectives:
- Health and developmental services are provided to Aboriginal children and families in accessible and Culturally welcoming ways and locations.
- Aboriginal children access and participate in quality early childhood learning and care that incorporates meaningful engagement from families and Communities.
- Aboriginal children and their families have in place the foundations for learning as they transition from home to early childhood services to school and between schools.
- Aboriginal families and Communities are active participants in the governance of child and family centres.
The department is also delivering several aligned programs including the Preschool Reform Agreement (PRA) funded early years engagement officer program in the Anangu Lands; the Hearing impairment support program; Families as First Teachers training; and implementation of playgroups in the Anangu Lands.
The department is committed to providing access to high-quality early childhood education and care experiences for Aboriginal children and their families. These should be Culturally appropriate and build on the strengths of Aboriginal nations and their Cultures. These experiences will be complemented by engaging families and Communities in their child’s learning and development planning.
In partnership with Aboriginal people, the department has reset its approach to improving education outcomes for Aboriginal learners across all public education settings, from early childhood through to senior secondary.
The co-designed Blueprint for Aboriginal outcomes in public education (the Blueprint), released in 2026, provides a clear and unified vision for Aboriginal outcomes. It builds on good work underway, creating consistency through a system-wide understanding about the practices and behaviours that have the greatest impact for Aboriginal learners, and what success looks and feels like for Aboriginal learners and their families.
It sharpens focus on the public system’s collective responsibility and accountability for supporting Aboriginal outcomes, and that Aboriginal voices must share decision-making. The Blueprint is about creating the right system foundations so Aboriginal children and young people learn and thrive in public education.
As part of its 10-year goals, the department is committed to improving Aboriginal children’s cognitive, emotional, social and communication skills and overall health and wellbeing, to support them to succeed. This requires working alongside Aboriginal families and Communities and building a confident, Culturally inclusive workforce ready to identify and implement the actions necessary to maximise the success of the department’s Aboriginal Education Strategy and this Aboriginal Early Childhood Strategy, in close partnership with the Office for Early Childhood Development and the South Australian Aboriginal Education, Training and Consultative Council (SAAETCC).
1 Note: Target 3 under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap is currently being reviewed, with proposed refreshed targets expected to place increased emphasis on both enrolment and attendance in YBFS early childhood education.
2 National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
3 Australian Bureau of Statistics; Department for Education (SA).
4 South Australian Closing the Gap Implementation Plan: 2024–25 Annual Report.
5 2024 Australian Early Development Census.