Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

The Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care is a one-year qualification for people who want to work directly with young children in Australian early learning services. You study how children grow and learn from birth to five, how to plan and run a play-based curriculum, how to keep children safe and well, and how to work with families and other staff. Expect units on child development, curriculum planning, health and safety, legal and ethical requirements, and working in diverse communities. Assessment is practical: you plan activities, keep learning journals, complete observations of children, and are assessed on your performance in a real service.

How the course is structured

The diploma is delivered over one year of full-time study. Australian vocational qualifications are built from units of competency, each with a set number of credit points, and you need to pass every required unit to graduate. Most providers run two or three study periods across the year rather than a single long semester. Alongside classroom or online study, the course includes a mandatory work placement in a registered early childhood service, where you work under supervision with children in the age group your qualification covers. That placement is not optional; it is how you show you can do the job.

What you learn

You finish with the skills to design and deliver a curriculum that follows the Early Years Learning Framework, observe and document children's progress, respond to behaviour in ways that support development, meet workplace health and safety and child protection obligations, and communicate with families from different backgrounds. You also learn to work within the National Quality Framework and the regulations that apply to early childhood services in Australia. Group work, reflective practice and professional communication are part of almost every unit.

Who it suits

This diploma suits people who want to work in long day care, preschool, family day care or outside school hours care, and who are ready to study in Australia. It also suits people already working in the sector who need a recognised qualification to move into a room leader or educator role. If you plan to continue to a bachelor degree later, check with the receiving university about credit, because credit is granted unit by unit and varies. International students should confirm English requirements, tuition, intake dates and placement arrangements on the official CRICOS register and with Skyline International College before applying. Remember that while you study, your Student visa allows up to 48 hours of work per fortnight, and after you finish you may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream, depending on your circumstances.

• Early childhood educator in long day care centres
• Room leader or lead educator in a preschool or kindergarten room
• Family day care educator running your own approved service
• Outside school hours care educator
• Inclusion support worker in an early learning service
• Nanny or in-home child carer

These roles are found across Australia in private and community long day care chains, council-run preschools, kindergartens, family day care schemes, and school-based outside hours care. Employers include not-for-profit providers, large national operators, local government, and small independent centres. Some graduates go on to study a bachelor degree in early childhood education to become a qualified early childhood teacher.