ACTION 5 – CHILDCARE ALLIANCE
This forms part of the Central Highlands Workforce Development and Accommodation Strategy.
CHDC to engage with and develop business case to expand the Childcare Leadership Alliance (CLA) into the Central Highlands region with focus on Blackwater as the first priority area.
CLA to be formally invited to address the WAC at its first meeting in June 2024.
The WAC with the CLA would be utilised to investigate whether additional centres are needed, where and how they should be developed.
◼ TIMEFRAME: CLA discussions to commence by 1 June 2024. Business Case to be finalised by 1 September 2024.
PROGRESS REPORT
A meeting with Astute, CLA’s Executive Management, took place on May, 2024 to begin conversations around collaborative opportunities for the Central Highlands region.
Astute invited to attend the July WAC meeting.
The third WAC was held on Thursday, 18 July 2024, with guest speaker Mel Comerford from Astute Early Learning discussing the Childcare Leadership Alliance and the recruitment strategy they implemented for Moranbah and Dysart. Several childcare centres from within the region were also in attendance. The presentation and strategies were well received from WAC members and attendees from the childcare industry in region.
9 August, 2024: CLA provide CHDC with Phase 1 – Assessment & Analysis with a primary focus on childhood education and care in Blackwater and Emerald. Phase 1 is intended to be implemented as the first of four phases of work including:
12 August, 2024: CHDC submitted an application for funding under the GYO (Grow Your Own) Regional Workforce Program Round 3 to kick start Action 5 of the WDAS—Childcare Leadership Alliance in the Central Highlands.
18 September, 2024: CHDC secured funding under the Grow Your Own (GYO) Regional Workforce Program Round 3, administered by Jobs Queensland through DESBT. The funding will support Phase 1 of the Childcare Leadership Alliance in the Central Highlands, which supports the primary focus on childhood education and care in Blackwater and Emerald.
25 November, 2024: CHDC, CLA, Infinitum, and regional ECEC stakeholders met to discuss the successful GYO funding and next steps in the project.
8 January, 2025: Three-month project report summitted to Jobs Queensland.
January 2025: CHDC, CLA, Infinitum, and Jobs Queensland came together to discuss the ‘Enhancing Early Childhood Education and Care’ project progress.
28 January, 2025: Contact with all RTOs delivering Cert III in Early Childhood Education and Care across Australia begins so the landscape of registered training organisations offering ECEC qualifications in the Central Highlands is transparent to project stakeholders. Feedback was obtained and a gap analysis will be conducted.
6 February, 2025: CLA arrives in the Central Highlands to begin on-the-ground engagement with Blackwater educators.
10 February, 2025: CLA arrives in Emerald to begin engagement with educators.
February, 2025: Additional information on the Enhancing Early Childhood Education & Care program can be found here.
March 25, CHDC, in partnership with Astute Early Years Specialists and Infinitum Consulting, co-designed and released a regional childcare survey in March 2024. The survey is open until 11 April and will help guide local community engagement through the Childcare Chats.
On April 4, 2025, a CHDC-designed ad promoting our local childcare survey appeared on the front page of Emerald Today on April 5, 2025. The campaign also includes advertising across LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google Ads to encourage community input.
The survey aims to improve early childhood education and care in Emerald and Blackwater.
👉 Complete the survey here.
April 11, 2025, the Community childcare survey officially closed with 243 responses collected from across Blackwater and Emerald. Data analysis underway to identify trends, barriers, and opportunities.
April 30, 2025 Winners of the community survey prize draw selected. Participants from Blackwater and Emerald each received a $100 dining voucher, as part of the community thank you.
April 30, 2025 May 1, 2025 Childcare Chats community sessions confirmed for:
- Blackwater – Saturday, 7 June at Dempsey Park – Click here for more details.
- Emerald – Sunday, 8 June at Centenary Park – Click here for more info.
These events include free face painting, BBQs, kids’ activities, and cookies. They are designed to promote real conversations with families and educators about childcare access, challenges, and ideas for improvement.
1 May 2025, CHDC began promoting the Childcare Chats campaign using newly developed marketing assets. Event details were published on CHDC’s website via the Events pages, the EECEC project and WDAS Action 5 landing pages.
7–8 June 2025, Childcare Chats held in Blackwater and Emerald
CHDC hosted two successful Childcare Chats as part of Action 5 – Childcare Leadership Alliance. These informal community sessions brought together local families and educators to share insights on childcare needs, access, and the challenges they face. Feedback gathered will inform the next phase of the Enhancing Early Childhood Education and Care (EECEC) project.
July 2025, Free Webinar Series Supporting ECEC Workforce
As part of the EECEC project, CHDC launched a four-part webinar series throughout July 2025 to support early childhood education and care services in growing their workforce and improving staff utilisation. Delivered by Astute Early Years Specialists, the sessions attracted strong registrations and covered key topics including strategic rostering, sustainable staffing, and building future-ready workforce models. Recordings will be shared with all registered participants.
Click the following link to view the recordings: Childcare Leadership Alliance
June 2025, Workforce Planning Connect, and free workforce tools along with access to Industry Workforce Advisors from CheckUP Australia were jointly marketed with Jobs Queensland and CHDC to the Early Childhood Education and Care industry in region to build awareness of the additional resources available to the sector from government initiatives.
For further information view the Free Workforce Tools flyer here: Workforce Planning Tools – CheckUp Central Highlands
14 July in Emerald, The Workforce Accommodation Collective (WAC) reconvened on 14 July in Emerald, and was held jointly with the Central Highlands Regional Roundtable (CHRR). The session included a WDAS update, and a deeper dive into the early childhood workforce project.
August 2025: CHDC raised the concept of a regional pathway for educators to complete the TAE qualification, enabling them to become trainers and assessors and helping address gaps in local training delivery. DTET is progressing internal discussions on this concept and will provide further advice.
28 August, Centre Leaders & Representatives, with the Enhancing Early Childhood Education and Care project with Jobs Queensland coming to conclusion, CHDC provided shared draft findings and recommendations with Centre Leaders and Representatives in Emerald and Blackwater.
9 September, CHDC and Infinitum Partners provided shared draft findings and recommendations from the Enhancing Early Childhood Education and Care project with the Department of Education.
