The fifth Early Childhood Education and Care National Workforce Census took place in 2024.
On this page:
Key findings
Workforce
Children
About this report
The 2024 National Workforce Census provides a national overview of the early childhood education and care workforce.
It collected information about:
- staff
- service usage
- children with additional needs
- access to preschool programs.
The 2024 National Workforce Census builds on the results of earlier censuses and provides a useful picture of the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector over time.
Read the 2024 National Workforce Census Report
Detailed findings
These key findings represent a snapshot of the ECEC sector during the reference week of the National Workforce Census (NWC).
The self-reported data is from:
- 97% of CCS services, and
- 67% of dedicated preschools nationally (excluding Western Australian dedicated preschools who did not participate in the 2024 NWC).
Workers
268,050 workers at ECEC services.
173,738 paid contact staff held a qualification in an ECEC field.
91.2% of the ECEC workforce was female.
Children
1,491,240 children aged 0 to 12 attended CCS-approved services. This is not a count of individual children, as children are not identified in NWC data and may attend more than one ECEC service.
4.4% of all children attending CCS-approved services were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
19.3% of all children attending CCS-approved services spoke a language other than English (LOTE) at home (or had parents/guardians who spoke a language other than English).