Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, , 7:24:31 to 7:27:46
Officials address the closure of Edge Early Learning centers and whether the Commonwealth would consider buying back centers to prevent service gaps, highlighting the transition of some services to not-for-profit providers like Good Start.
Topics: Education, Government spending
Speakers: Senator Jess Walsh, Senator Fatima Payman, Ms. Kylie Crane, Unknown Speaker
So, I know that this year we've watched quite a number of uh large for-profit providers shut their doors, leaving parents without answers about their children's ongoing education and care. Did the Commonwealth ever consider um buying back those centers and running them directly to plug the gap?
>> Uh not to my knowledge, Senator,
>> why wasn't this considered?
>> That would be a matter for government,
Senator I spoke a little bit earlier, gave um evidence a bit earlier about um edge early learning um which has gone into voluntary administration. Uh and uh so we have been engaged in that and we have been engaged uh in working towards um as much uh of as many of those services as possible being able to be um supported to transition to a not for-p profofit provider. Um Good Start Early Learning has entered a conditional agreement to acquire 31 Edge Learning Services. uh and we have um supported uh them in that proposal. So, you're
suggesting that another not for-p profofit should take over um you know the forprofit providers who may be shutting their doors and the Commonwealth won't step in because I'm what I'm asking is will the Commonwealth step in and buy back those centers uh to ensure that families aren't left without ongoing education and care for their
children. So in some of the earlier evidence uh in the committee we were talking about areas of over supply and under supply uh and there's two slightly different things happening um in your questioning um one in relation to um closures that are due to over supply. Um you know we are we are monitoring that. Um we are concerned about that because um it is incredibly disruptive to children. and to families even if there is another service um that is there and that is available. Um we are um as you would know exploring um with education ministers around the country the potential for um an early education commission which we think could help um with those issues of over supply and under supply when there are services um that go into administration um or are at risk of of closure. We are interested in the not in supporting the not for-p profofit sector um where there are viable services in areas of disadvantage um and under supply. Um we are interested in supporting um not for profofits um where it is uh possible to do so um to step in um with those services. That is what we did with Good Start Early Learning and we're very pleased that Good Start Early Learning is um in an arrangement uh and has conditionally agreed to acquire 31 of the edge early learning services um that are in areas of need.