This paper argues that the provision of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services should be treated as a strategic industry of national importance – not just a ‘market’, and not just a ‘cost’ item on government budgets.

The ECEC sector supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. It directly creates billions of dollars of value-added in the Australian economy. It generates further demand for other sectors – both upstream, in its own supply chain, and downstream in consumer goods and services industries that depend on the buying power of ECEC workers. It facilitates work and production throughout the rest of Australia’s economy, by allowing parents to work – although that goal would be much better achieved if Australia had a more comprehensive, universal, and public ECEC system. Perhaps most important, ECEC enhances the long-term potential of Australia’s economy, and all of society, by providing young children with high-quality education opportunities that have significant benefits.

For all these reasons, building a stronger, more accessible, and high-quality ECEC system is not just a top-ranking social priority. It is a vital economic opportunity as well. Expanding and improving ECEC is essential to maximising Australia’s post-pandemic economic recovery and enhancing our long-run economic and social performance.