The Queensland Early Years Workforce Institute will be an independent institute focused on elevating and supporting the education and care workforce in Queensland and improving outcomes for children. We will do this by leading system wide workforce planning and delivering professional learning and workforce supports across Queensland. What we’re aiming for is a sustainable, professional early years workforce that delivers for children in Queensland.
Why our sector needs an institute
Queensland’s early years workforce is skilled, passionate, and vital. That’s why we’re creating The Queensland Early Years Workforce Institute – to help you grow, learn and thrive. Over time, we want to make it easier for you to find high-quality professional learning, discover clear career pathways, and access the help you need at every stage of your career.
Building something great for the workforce
01
Strengthen workforce capability, professional and pedagogical practice
02
Grow and sustain a high-quality workforce
03
Attract a diverse and attuned workforce
04
Leverage qualifications for ongoing workforce development
05
Champion a culture of data and
evidence-informed decision making
Our values
We lead the progressive work of the institute through collaboration and deliver with equity and integrity.
Progressive, Equitable, Integrity, and Collaborative
Investing in the Early Years Workforce
The evidence is clear: high-quality early learning benefits children. However, quality is not a static standard; it is driven by people. To deliver the best outcomes for children living in Queensland, we need a workforce that is diverse, professional, and responsive to every child’s unique needs.
When we invest in the workforce, we aren’t just filling roles – we are driving systemic workforce development to elevate the entire profession. This means ensuring that the sector has the right people, with the right skills, in the right roles, interacting in ways that foster growth, respect and wellbeing.
How the institute will do its work
During the establishment phase, the Queensland Government is partnering with The Bryan Education Foundation—an independent, Queensland based philanthropic organisation—to design the new institute, create early governance frameworks, and prepare the institute’s constitution ahead of a formal launch in October 2026. Once the institute is official launched, the independent board of directors and the CEO will determine the strategic direction of the institute.
In the lead up to this launch, we are setting up regional networks to design and test collaborative workforce plans across Queensland. These networks will capture local workforce challenges and opportunities and feed these insights into a statewide view. The institute and the regional networks will use these insights to identify practical, shared mechanisms that we can support to deliver targeted professional learning in 2027. We will then adapt and extend these regional workforce planning pilots to other regions in 2027 and beyond.
How the institute will grow its impact
Building a new organisation with the sector requires consultation, discovery, planning, and testing. Sector stakeholders told us that the institute should be independent and grow gradually. We will start with the fundamentals, such as collaborative workforce planning and professional learning, and build solid foundations that allow our work to expand sustainably over time.
We will strengthen workforce capability, improve access to high quality professional learning, and support clear career and leadership pathways, but we will not duplicate programs or add compliance. We will offer clarity, connection, and data informed insights to help the sector attract, develop and keep great people.
We know that a stable, capable workforce is essential for high quality education and care.
The Queensland Early Years Workforce Institute is being created to support that goal.