2026-02-23
A hearing of the inquiry into quality and safety in early childhood education and care today in Brisbane heard evidence from Affinity Education Group, a for-profit provider operating more than 250 centres across Australia. Affinity has faced scrutiny over the past year, including revelations that Joshua Brown worked across multiple Affinity centres.
During questioning from Greens spokesperson for early education and care, Steph Hodgins-May, Affinity confirmed:
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Staff turnover of 30 per cent across its centres, meaning almost one in three educators leave each year. This is despite $30,000 management bonuses on offer for tenure.
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17 per cent of its centres are operating with staffing waivers, allowing services to employ under-qualified or fewer qualified educators than normally required.
The national average for staffing waivers is 5.8 per cent meaning Affinity’s rate is more than three times the national average.
Affinity also could not confirm when pressed whether upcoming management restructures would result in less dedicated safeguarding staff. They took on notice a request to provide total remuneration packages for their c-suite executives.
The inquiry has repeatedly heard that investing in educators and maintaining low staff turnover is the single most important factor in ensuring safety and quality in early learning settings.
Lines attributable to Senator Steph Hodgins-May
“This inquiry has consistently heard that investing in staff is the key to protecting safety and quality in early learning.
“It is so alarming to hear that one of Australia’s largest for-profit providers is turning over a third of its workforce every year.
“Families deserve stability. Dropping your child off each morning to a revolving door of educators is not safe.
“Almost a fifth of Affinity’s centres are operating with staffing waivers, more than three times the national average.
“That means these centres are relying on lower qualifications or reduced staffing standards whilst still charging parents out-of-pocket for care.
“With almost all of the new early learning centres opened in the past five years being for-profit, this inquiry could not be more timely.
“We need actual reform, not band-aid fixes, to ensure public funding is reinvested into educator pay, staffing stability and quality and not siphoned to shareholders and executive bonuses.”