(Cth) Remove the Weekly Hourly Caps on Inclusion Support Funding in Education and Care Settings
Author: Eliza Kral, Grace McCamish, Henning Kallies, Sara Washer, Anthea Sheriff & Harriett Cox | Publish date: 9/9/2026
P: In Australia, there are caps on the number of hours funded through the Inclusion Support Program in education and care settings.
S: The Minister for Early Childhood Education should amend Section 8.4 of the Inclusion Support Program Guidelines to remove both the single-child cap and shared care cap on funded hours of ISP to support child inclusion.
E: Goodstart Early Learning (2025): ‘We recommend the caps on funded hours of [ISP] support be removed’.
Problem Identification:
Section 8.4 of the Inclusion Support Program (ISP) Guidelines sets limits on the number of hours per week that educators subsidised through the ISP are funded: up to 25 hours per week for a single child, and 40 hours for shared care arrangements.
According to the Productivity Commission report (2024), this cap on ISP-funded hours is ‘restrictive’ as the limitation applies ‘irrespective of the number of hours that children who require support attend’ care services. The Australian Institute of Family Studies’ evaluation of the ISP found that this ‘results in a differential level of support’ for children with additional needs. Monique Power, founder of disability services organisation RippleAbility, noted that these differing levels of support mean ‘families … have felt the strain immensely’.
Context:
Goodstart Early Learning (GEL) explained that the ISP funds ‘an additional (above ratio) educator in an early learning room, so that children with a disability … or other inclusion support need can participate in early learning.’ The ISP applies to services such as Centre-Based Day Care, Outside School Hours Care and Family Day Care.
GEL (2024) noted that the 25-hour weekly cap was ‘inconsistent with Department of Education data, [which outlined] children were enrolled – on average – for 34.1 hours per week’. A report that reviewed the ISP by Deloitte (2023) stated that this ‘restrict[s] the capabilities of services to adequately support children and their inclusion needs.’
Arguments:
According to GEL, ‘children living with disability, developmental delay and other inclusion support needs often face exclusion from mainstream ECEC [early childhood education and care] services because the service cannot meet their needs’. The Deloitte report (2023) outlined that the restrictions on staffing hours ‘has resulted in some services turning away enrolments due to lack of capacity to adequately supervise and support children and their needs.’ Children and Young People with Disability Australia’s 2022 member survey evidenced this: 1 in 5 responding parents ‘reported that their child had been refused enrolment [and] nearly a quarter said their child had been limited in the number of hours they were allowed to attend’. The Productivity Commission (2024) reported that the impacts of this are ongoing, with ‘children with disability and developmental concerns [being] less likely to access early childhood education and care, experience difficult transitions to school and often face barriers to accessing and maintaining school enrolments.’
GEL reported that the cap on ISP-funded hours ‘limits the workforce participation of parents of children with a disability’ and stated that without the inclusion support of an additional educator, ‘children miss out on the benefits of high-quality early learning and their families may be forced to make difficult trade-offs about their workforce participation, such as working part-time or turning down promotions … because their child would not be adequately supported.’ They further highlighted that this may lead to ‘significant anxiety for parents try[ing] to juggle work, care and other responsibilities.’ Monique Power stated ‘without adequate, affordable, and appropriate ECEC options, families … make enormous sacrifices.’ GEL concluded that parents ‘caring for children with a disability [or inclusion support needs] have lower workforce participation than other parents.’
Advice/Solution Identification:
GEL, The Front Project and The Y Australia have all called for the removal of weekly caps on the ISP to support child inclusion. The Y Australia identified removing the cap on ISP-funded hours as an ‘[opportunity] to dismantle barriers’. They outlined that this ‘ensure[s] safe and inclusive access to ECEC services for all children, enabling their families to actively participate in their communities and the workforce.’
Precedent:
There is an international precedent for removing the weekly caps on additional support hours. In the UK, education services are required to have an inclusion fund ‘for children below … school age who have special educational needs’. This fund does not include a cap on weekly funded hours.
Public Support of the Solution:
(This list reflects publicly stated positions and should not necessarily be taken as endorsement of this specific brief.)
Australian Childcare Alliance (see acknowledgments)
Early Childhood Intervention Australia Victoria/Tasmania (see acknowledgments)
Broad Support
It Takes A Village and Community Early Learning Australia - They called for an ‘increase [in] the hours funded for additional educators to match the Three Day Guarantee’. However, they did not call for a removal of the hourly cap.
Creche and Kindergarten Association Limited - They called for an increase of hours for educators through the ISP by ‘matching [educator] hours to attendance’. However, they did not call for a removal of the hourly cap.
News Coverage:
The Sector - “Australia’s Inclusion Support Program is a gem, ensuring children, who would otherwise be left out, can join early learning”. This article discussed the importance of funding the ISP to support children’s learning. No Author Listed | 6 July 2026 - Read the article here.
The Guardian - “No longer a ‘niche’ group: children with complex needs being turned away from childcare in Australia”. This article reported that obtaining funding for ISP is made difficult by the extensive wait times accompanying both the ISP and NDIS. By: Krishani Dhanji | 19 February 2026 - Read the article here.
ABC News - “Multi-million-dollar Inclusion Support Program is creating barriers, not taking them away, early childhood centres say”. This article detailed an early childhood education and care director’s difficulties navigating ISP funding processes, which has limited the number of children with a disability that she could support. By: Nas Campanella & Mary Lloyd | 27 November 2024 - Read the article here.
ABC News - “Australia’s childcare divide is growing. Here are the suburbs getting left behind”. This article discussed how lack of access to childcare has impacted the ability of mothers to return to work after having children. By: Inga Ting, Madi Chwasta, Thomas Brettell & Brody Smith | 20 August 2024 - Read the article here.
Where to go to learn more:
(2025) Pre-Budget Submission to the Australian Treasury | Goodstart Early Learning - This submission communicated Goodstart’s position on universal early childhood education and care, including their recommendations for the caps on funded hours of support to be removed. View the report here.
(2024) A path to universal early childhood education and care Inquiry report | Productivity Commission - This report examined the early childhood education and care sector and detailed the barriers that lead to the exclusion of some children from early childhood education. The report outlined opportunities to improve ‘the ISP to support children with higher needs’, including removing the weekly hourly caps. View the report here.
(2024) Pre-Budget Submission | The Front Project - This Submission outlined the Front Projects findings on creating a universal early childhood education and care system that benefits all children and supports parents and guardians to work. It reported that extending the ISP program is essential for ‘building inclusive practices’. Read the submission here.
(2023) Review of the Inclusion Support Program | Deloitte - This report examined ‘the degree to which the outcomes and objectives being pursued by the [ISP] are being achieved and whether changes to the Program could improve its efficiency and/or effectiveness’. View the review here.
Inclusion Support Program Guidelines 2025 (Cth) - Read the Guidelines here.
Human Perspective:
Emily is a 4-year-old who loves story time, painting and playing with her friends at Dinosaur Childcare Centre. Emily requires the support of an additional educator subsidised through the Inclusion Support Program (ISP) to help her participate in activities, build relationships and feel confident in the classroom. The ISP is capped at only funding an additional educator for 25 hours each week. However, Emily's mum is a single parent whose work commitments require Emily to attend childcare for 35 hours per week. Despite wanting to continue supporting Emily, the centre could no longer afford the cost and was forced to reduce her support. Emily’s mum wanted to ensure her daughter received appropriate, high-level support. This meant that she had to reduce her working hours, even turning down a promotion so she could look after her daughter during what would have been Emily’s time at childcare. This placed significant financial strain on their family as they did not have a full-time, stable income. While other children continued to build friendships and prepare for school, Emily has been excluded from the very environment designed to give every child the best possible start in life – not because of her needs, but because there was no educator available to help her.
To protect the anonymity of those involved, this is a fictionalised account drawn from an amalgamation of real-life stories, experiences and testimonials gathered during the research process for this brief. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.
Conflict of interest/acknowledgment statement:
Australian Childcare Alliance confirmed their support for this solution in an email with FORE Good on 20 August 2026. Shared with their consent.
Early Childhood Intervention Australia Victoria/Tasmania confirmed their support for this solution in an email with FORE Good on 12 August 2026. Shared with their consent.
Support
If your organisation would like to add your support to this paper or suggest amendments, please email Info@foreaustralia.com.
Disclaimers
Please review all FORE disclaimers here.
Reference list:
Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2022). The 2018–2021 Child Care Package Evaluation: Inclusion Support Program - Research Snapshot. Australian Government. https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-06/CCPE%20snapshot%2010_inclusion-support-program.pdf
Deloitte Access Economics. (2023). Review of the Inclusion Support Program - Final Report. https://www.education.gov.au/download/17404/review-inclusion-support-program-final-report/35230/document/pdf
Department of Education. (2025a). Inclusion development fund. Australian Government. https://www.education.gov.au/early-childhood/providers/extra-support/inclusion-support-program/inclusion-development-fund
Department of Education. (2025b). Inclusion Support Program Guidelines. Australian Government. https://www.education.gov.au/download/2994/inclusion-support-program-guidelines/42201/document/pdf
Dickinson, H., Smith, C., Yates, S., & Faulkner, A. (2022). Taking the first step in an inclusive life – Experiences of Australian early childhood education and care. Children and Young People with Disability Australia. https://cyda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/SMALL_REP_CYDATakingFirstStep_Final_Dec22.pdf
Early Childhood Australia. (2016). Statement on the inclusion of every child in early childhood education and care. https://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Statement-of-Inclusion_updated-2022-with-publishing-date.pdf
Goodstart Early Learning. (2020). Goodstart Early Learning: 2020-21 Pre-Budget Submission to the Australian Treasury. https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-09/115786_GOODSTART_EARLY_LEARNING.pdf
Goodstart Early Learning. (2023a). The Early Years Strategy: Goodstart Submission. https://www.goodstart.org.au/getmedia/eca6bdeb-84fb-41d5-9c98-818c3aa68ad3/National-Early-Years-Strategy-Goodstart-Submission-April-2023.pdf
Goodstart Early Learning. (2023b). Productivity Commission Inquiry into Early Childhood Education and Care: Goodstart Submission. https://assets.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/360388/sub125-childhood.pdf
Goodstart Early Learning. (2025). Goodstart Early Learning: 2025 Pre-Budget Submission to the Australian Treasury. https://www.goodstart.org.au/getmedia/9dd43f50-6890-43e0-a06b-39806359564c/Goodstart-Pre-Budget-Submission-2025-26-FINAL_1.pdf
Ingerton, M. (2024, August 11). Understanding the NDIS reasonable and necessary criteria: An essential guide for Support Coordinators. Endeavour Foundation. https://www.endeavour.com.au/resources/blog/understanding-the-ndis-reasonable-and-necessary-criteria
Power, M. (n.d.). My complex kid can’t access childcare. Why not, and what do I do now?. Source Kids. https://sourcekids.com.au/my-complex-kid-cant-access-childcare/
Productivity Commission. (2024a). A path to universal early childhood education and care: Inquiry report - volume 1 (Report no. 106). Australian Government. https://assets.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/childhood/report/childhood-volume1-report.pdf
Productivity Commission. (2024b). A path to universal early childhood education and care: Inquiry report - volume 2 supporting papers (Report no. 106). Australian Government. https://assets.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/childhood/report/childhood-volume2-supporting.pdf
Productivity Commission. (2026). Report on Government Services 2026: Early childhood education and care. Australian Government. https://www.pc.gov.au/ongoing/report-on-government-services/child-care-education-and-training/early-childhood-education-and-care/
Reimagine Australia. (2024). National Guidelines for Best Practice in Early Childhood Intervention (Early Childhood Developmental Supports). 2nd ed. https://childkind.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/National-Guidelines-for-Best-Practice-in-Early-Childhood-Intervention-2nd-Edition.pdf
Spencer, N. (2014, December 11). Impacts of caring for a child with chronic health problems on parental work status and security: A longitudinal cohort study. Family Matters, 95, 24-29. https://aifs.gov.au/research/family-matters/no-95/impacts-caring-child-chronic-health-problems-parental-work-status-and
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