Australia

The Front Project launched in 2016 with the help of GoodStart Early Learning and ReadyNation International.

In 2016, with initial funding from Goodstart Early Learning, RNI provided support on the ground in Australia working with executives, advocates, policymakers and civic leaders to help lay the foundation for a new business venture committed to impacting that country’s early childhood education landscape. The Front Project, led by its CEO Jane Hunt, has since operated as a fully independent national enterprise working to create positive outcomes and improve quality in Australia’s education system by working with government, business and the early education sector. The Front Project has two major initiatives that complement its core work: (i) Future Tracks, its social enterprise, encourages and supports the next generation of Australia’s early childhood teachers and welcomed its inaugural cohort of students this past August; and (ii) The Apiary which supports leaders from diverse services across Australia to work collaboratively and seek solutions to early childhood education problems.

The Front Project commissioned PwC to prepare Australia’s first economic analysis of early childhood education, a comprehensive study finding that early childhood education produces a 2:1 return on investment boosting educational achievement, workforce participation and tax revenue. Other recent research and policy developments include collaboration with partners on the cost of late intervention spending in Australia that resulted in a new report.

For more information, contact Jane Hunt, CEO of The Front Project, at jhunt@thefrontproject.org.au.