19 JunThe Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) results are in – What does it mean for the ECEC sector?
The 2024 Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) National Report was released last Friday.
ELAA members can download the AEDC National Report 2024 and the AEDC Key Findings 2024 fact sheet from the new AEDC website.
The new and improved AEDC website includes an enhanced search function, making the data and resources easier to find and use. Publicly available AEDC results can be accessed through the Community Data Explorer.
What do the results say?
Summary indicator results
- Developmentally on track on five domains (OT5): The percentage of children developmentally on track on five domains decreased from 54.8 per cent in 2021 to 52.9 per cent in 2024, however it remains above the baseline set in 2009 (50.7 per cent).
- Developmentally vulnerable on one or more domains (DV1): The percentage of children developmentally vulnerable on one or more domains increased from 22.0 per cent in 2021 to 23.5 per cent in 2024.
- Developmentally vulnerable on two or more domains (DV2): The percentage of children developmentally vulnerable on two or more domains increased from 11.4 per cent in 2021 to 12.5 per cent in 2024. This is the highest level of developmental vulnerability in two or more domains across all six AEDC collections.
Domain results
- Physical health and wellbeing: 10.0 per cent of children are developmentally vulnerable on the physical health and wellbeing domain, an increase of 0.2 percentage points since 2021.
- Social competence: 10.7 per cent of children are developmentally vulnerable on the social competence domain, an increase of 1.1 percentage points since 2021.
- Emotional maturity: 10.0 per cent of children are developmentally vulnerable on the emotional maturity domain, an increase of 1.5 percentage points since 2021. This represents the largest increase in developmental vulnerability among all domains.
- Language and cognitive skills (school-based): 7.7 per cent of children are developmentally vulnerable on the language and cognitive skills (school-based) domain, an increase of 0.4 percentage points since 2021.
- Communication skills and general knowledge: 8.9 per cent of children are developmentally vulnerable on the communication skills and general knowledge domain, an increase of 0.5 percentage points since 2021.
What does this mean for our sector?
The 2024 AEDC results show that the percentage of developmentally vulnerable children has increased across all five AEDC domains since 2021. The sharpest increase is in emotional maturity, alongside notable rises in social competence and communication skills and general knowledge.
While it is encouraging that more than half of children are on track in all five domains and remain above the 2009 baseline — the upward trend in vulnerability, especially among children with challenges in two or more domains, signals a clear need for national attention.
What is shown in the report reflects what ELAA hears from our members every day, such as the growing complexities in the lives of children and how this shows up in their behaviors, more children needing additional support, and families experiencing hardship.
ELAA acknowledges and commends our members and their staff who are supporting children each day through thoughtful, inclusive and play-based learning programs, while working across the complexities that families and children bring.
Following the release of these results, ELAA calls for continued and strengthened investment in the Early Childhood Education and Care sector, particularly in:
- Ensuring every child has access to two years of high-quality early learning.
Access to a high-quality kindergarten program is critical in the early years of a child’s life. It lays the foundation for life skills, independence, and builds social and emotional competence.
- Supporting our low-paid workforce through fair pay and improved conditions that are backed up with a robust workforce attraction and retention strategy. Our sector cannot deliver quality without a well-supported and valued workforce.
- Building strong partnerships with families and communities by acknowledging and valuing diverse backgrounds, and respecting cultural identities, languages and the different ways families support their children’s development. This also means encouraging collaboration between local services and networks, and connecting families with community supports.
- Providing targeted support for services in vulnerable communities, to ensure all services can meet the needs of their communities, families and the children they work with.
About the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC)
The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is a national measure of children’s development in their first year of full-time school. Data has been collected
nationally every three years since 2009. The 2024 AEDC is the sixth national data collection. Over 288,000 children in their first year of full-time school participated in the 2024 AEDC (close to 95 per cent of eligible children). AEDC provides a picture of how Australian children are developing as they begin full-time school. It allows us to see current strengths, and where more support is needed to enable children and families to thrive. By highlighting patterns early, AEDC data can be used to shape better decisions, policies and practices.
For more information, visit the new AEDC website: www.aedc.gov.au.
