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Investing in the Aboriginal Early Childhood Workforce
The South Australian government is investing a record $5.8 million to support the growth, development and retention of the Aboriginal early childhood education workforce.
South Australia’s Aboriginal Early Childhood Workforce Strategy (2025 – 2027) was co-designed in partnership with the South Australian Aboriginal Community to strengthen and grow the Aboriginal workforce within the early childhood sector across South Australia.
The Office for Early Childhood Development is working to grow and support culturally safe and accessible pathways into early childhood careers that recognise, develop and retain Aboriginal people long-term.
Flying Start Early Childhood Awards - Aboriginal Early Childhood Award
This award recognises outstanding contribution to Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) that strengthens outcomes for Aboriginal children, families, and Communities. It celebrates an Aboriginal individual or a service whose work is guided by Culture, strong relationships, and connection with the local Aboriginal Community. Through everyday practice, leadership, advocacy or service wide approaches, recipients of this award demonstrate a strong understanding in Cultural responsiveness, Cultural safety, shared decision making and a deep commitment to supporting Aboriginal children to thrive.
Nominations close 5pm Friday 31 July 2026.
Download the Aboriginal Early Childhood Workforce Strategy
Improving outcomes for Aboriginal children, workforce and the sector
Growing the early childhood education sector’s Aboriginal workforce representation is vital for improving outcomes for Aboriginal children, and also strengthens the cultural safety, capability and inclusivity of the entire sector and its services.
Developed in partnership with Aboriginal leaders, Community representatives, and sector stakeholders, the strategy recognises the vital role of Aboriginal voices, knowledge, and culture in shaping services that deliver better outcomes for Aboriginal children, families, and Communities.
Our vision
To grow and support culturally safe and accessible pathways into early childhood careers that recognise, develop and retain Aboriginal peoples long-term.
Read more about the Aboriginal Workforce Strategy in the drop-down boxes below.
What this means for Aboriginal staff
Entry pathways
Free, culturally-safe pre-certificate early childhood education taster courses for Aboriginal Peoples to explore, risk-free, a career in early childhood education.
Establishing and supporting the development of a network of culturally safe placements for Aboriginal students as they begin their career in early childhood education.
Grant funding to support opportunities for localised training pathways for Aboriginal Communities to become qualified in early childhood education, in their Community.
Financial supports
Removing the financial barriers relating to obtaining both a Working With Children Check (WWCC), and police criminal history checks.
This is supported at the earliest stage of the entry pathway as part of the culturally safe, Aboriginal specific taster courses and through scholarships for vocational education and university courses.
Financial support for Aboriginal students to undertake paid placements within culturally appropriate early childhood education services.
The funding is designed to reduce financial barriers that may prevent students from undertaking or completing placements.
Delivered through the Qualify SA Aboriginal Pathways program, financial support is available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in the following courses:
- Certificate III in Early Childhood Education
- Diploma in Early Childhood Education
- Birth to 5 bachelor’s degree
- Birth to 5 master’s degree
- Birth to 5 graduate diploma (where the student has a teaching qualification).
Find out more about Financial Support for Aboriginal Students.
Career development recognition and retention
Interactive pathway tools will support Aboriginal peoples at every stage of their career to navigate and effectively plan for career aspirations. From considering a career in early childhood education, through to becoming the director of a centre and everything in between.
Recognising the importance of Aboriginal-led pathways into leadership, skill-building, and empowering individuals to shape their own career trajectories. Financial support is available for Aboriginal staff to access self-identified professional development opportunities to grow their career.
Flying Start Aboriginal Career Development Scholarship
The Flying Start Aboriginal Career Development Scholarship provides one-off grant funding of up to $15,000 to support Aboriginal people working in South Australia’s ECEC sector to pursue self-identified professional development opportunities.
The grants aim to strengthen Aboriginal leadership, capability, and career progression in the ECEC sector by supporting individuals to access culturally responsive learning, qualifications, mentoring, and other opportunities aligned to their professional development goals.
As part of a targeted attraction campaign, human-interest stories spotlighting local Community heroes and key figures will be developed, recognising the critical role that Aboriginal people in the workforce play.
Sponsorship of awards recognising the integral role that Aboriginal teachers and educators play within the Community, the early childhood education sector, and the lives of young children.
Flying Start Early Childhood Awards
Aboriginal Early Childhood Award
Nominations close 5pm Friday 31 July 2026.
What this means for services and the sector
Engagement and recruitment
To grow the profile of the Aboriginal early childhood education workforce and support the value proposition of the early childhood education sector as an employer of choice for Aboriginal people, we will:
- spotlight local Community early childhood sector heroes and key figures in human-interest stories; and
- partner with the Department of Human Services to clarify and destigmatise working with children checks.
Empowering and supporting the early childhood education sector with the Practice Guide: Aboriginal Culturally Responsive Recruitment in Early Education. The practice guide was developed in partnership with an Aboriginal business to support the early childhood education sector to recruit in a culturally safe way that is responsive to the needs of Aboriginal Peoples.
View the Practice Guide and Information Pack.
Entry pathways
Financial support for culturally safe services to take on Aboriginal trainees as they work towards a Certificate III or Diploma qualification in early childhood education.
Career development recognition and retention
Grants to support early childhood education sector services to develop and retain Aboriginal staff working in their centre.
Find out more about Aboriginal Workforce Grants.
Community and employer collaboration
Grants to support Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) and Aboriginal business suppliers to build capacity to deliver Aboriginal Cultural Safety training for early childhood education services.
Find out more about Aboriginal Cultural Safety Training.
Grant funding to support early childhood education services to engage in local centre-based activities, access Aboriginal education resources, support Community connection, and strengthen the application of cultural knowledge.
Find out more about Aboriginal Workforce Grants.
Have a question?
Email the Aboriginal workforce team on OECD.ECWorkforceSupport@sa.gov.au