The Child Care Act 1972: A critical juncture in Australian ECEC and the emergence of 'quality'

This article illuminates the significance of the Child Care Act 1972 (Cwlth) as a criticaljuncture in the development of Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC)policy and, specifically, in establishing quality as a key policy consideration. The articlereports on an analysis of the Act, informed by Foucault’s use of a history of the present,that highlights dominant discourses and path-dependent processes as both enabling andconstraining for quality in child care and the development of a national ECEC sector.