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Minister's message

Lucy Hood, Minister for Education, Training and Skills

Hon Lucy Hood MP, Minister for Education, Training and Skills

The South Australian Aboriginal Early Childhood Strategy sets out a clear vision: Aboriginal children in South Australia thrive. We want our children to be strong in Culture, confident in learning, and supported by families and their Communities as First Teachers. Achieving this vision requires Culturally responsive preschools and early learning centres, meaningful engagement with Aboriginal Communities, integrated service delivery, and connected government systems that listen, learn and transform.

The Strategy responds directly to the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care and shared commitments under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. As South Australia rolls out universal 3-year-old preschool from 2026, we want more Aboriginal children to access more Culturally responsive preschool supports that reflect their identities, strengths and aspirations.

This vision will be delivered through both the co-designed new initiatives outlined in this Strategy, but also the extensive early childhood reforms being stewarded by the Office for Early Childhood Development, which has embedded Aboriginal voices and prioritised Culture and Community within every program supporting the roll out of universal 3-year-old preschool and associated reforms.

South Australia is making a record $1.9 billion investment to 2032 to deliver universal 3-year-old preschool and broader early years reform to support all children. In response to the recommendation of the Royal Commission, within this investment, the government specifically committed to fund new initiatives focused on Aboriginal children. This investment totals $35 million over the next four years, and $12.8 million per annum ongoing from 2030-31.

$5.8 million has also been committed as part of our commitment to grow, strengthen and support South Australia’s Aboriginal early childhood workforce, and there is an estimated benefit of $40 million to 2032 through broader OECD reforms with the goal of empowering Aboriginal children.

I would like to thank the South Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation Network for its formal partnership with the Government of South Australia on this critical work, overseen by the Aboriginal Co-design Governance Group, and affirm our ongoing commitment to Closing the Gap principles of shared decision-making, accountability and Aboriginal leadership at every stage of design and implementation.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank the Honourable Blair Boyer MP, as the former Minister for his strong support of this work. I am proud to endorse this Strategy as a cornerstone of South Australia’s early childhood reforms. It reflects our responsibility to do better, our willingness to work differently and our belief in the strength and leadership of South Australian Aboriginal Communities.