Multi-disciplinary workforce
Building a multi-disciplinary workforce for early childhood
The South Australian Government is investing $3.4 million over 2 years in a series of initiatives to build the state’s early childhood multi-disciplinary workforce.
The South Australian Early Childhood Multi-Disciplinary Workforce Strategy (2025-2027) aims to build a sustainable and connected workforce that brings together early childhood teachers and educators, along with allied health professionals such as speech therapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, and social workers.
The Strategy will support the diverse workforce needed to deliver Preschool Boost by harnessing the collective expertise of these professionals to assist partner services to do more to address developmental vulnerability and improve outcomes for 3-and 4-year old children, their families and communities.
Download the South Australian Early Childhood Multi-Disciplinary Workforce Strategy (2025-2027)
Our commitment
Supporting every child to have a flying start in life requires a multi-disciplinary response; one that values the unique contributions of each profession while placing children and families at the centre.
The Strategy is grounded in a shared vision: a connected, place-based workforce that puts children at the centre.
Achieving this requires:
- Systems leadership: Coordinated leadership across government, institutions, and service providers.
- Cross-sector partnerships: genuine collaboration between educators, allied health professionals, Aboriginal Communities and organisations, unions, and peak bodies.
- Frontline voices: embedding the lived expertise of those working directly with children and families into every stage of strategy design and implementation.
What we will do
We will develop multi-disciplinary placement and supervision models to enhance collaboration, mutual understanding, and integrated practice between early childhood teachers and allied health professionals. These models will enhance the skills of students and graduates, preparing them to work effectively together in early childhood settings.
We will also promote allied health career pathways in early childhood through engagement and attraction activities that highlight the benefits and impact of these roles.
Through local grants, we will trial innovative approaches for roles that operate across multiple early childhood education and care services. This will expand the capacity of preschool partners and allied health providers to deliver educational programs tailored to children’s needs, maximising the impact of multi-disciplinary expertise within local communities.
The Multi-Disciplinary Localised Capacity Building Grants program closed 22 April 2026.
We will develop a suite of professional learning modules for early childhood educators and teachers, and allied health professionals. These modules will build knowledge and skills, foster continuous improvement, deepen professional insight, and support responsive service delivery centred on children and families.
We will develop a practical toolkit to support contextual and reflective practice in preschool settings. This resource will help professionals understand each other’s roles, reflect on approaches, and strengthen collaboration in supporting children and families.
In addition, we will establish a leadership peer exchange, pairing senior allied health professionals with early childhood leaders. This initiative will foster shared understanding across disciplines and encourage collaborative, reflective ways of working.
Have a question?
If you have a question or want to provide feedback, please contact the Workforce Policy and Innovation team on OECD.ECWorkforceSupport@sa.gov.au