We, the undersigned, call on Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL) and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to halt the proposed cuts to 45 Early Childhood Coordinator positions. The coordinators are employed by BSL, which has the NDIA contract to deliver early childhood early intervention services to disadvantaged families across most of Melbourne in the west, north and south eastern suburbs.

These cuts will reduce support for children with disability and developmental delay and their families at a critical time of uncertainty and transition. The current early childhood system is already under strain, yet the new Thriving Kids model is not expected to begin rolling out until October 2026 and won’t be completed until 2028.

These workers are early childhood intervention experts. Cutting specialist staff now will leave a major gap in support for families who rely on consistent, skilled assistance. It will result in children waiting longer to receive support during crucial stages of development when early intervention is key.

The proposed redundancies will hit a predominantly female workforce. At a time when governments and employers claim to support gender equality and value care work, these cuts send the opposite message: that highly skilled early childhood workers are expendable.

There is a clear alternative.

Rather than making experienced workers redundant before Thriving Kids is up and running, BSL should retain these staff throughout the transition period to ensure continuity of care for families and retain critical sector knowledge and expertise.

If these workers are forced out of the sector now, many may never return — worsening workforce shortages and weakening support for children and families into the future.

We call on the Brotherhood of St Laurence and the NDIA to:

• Stop the proposed 45 redundancies;
• Retain Early Childhood Coordinators for the transition to Thriving Kids;
• Guarantee no reduction in support for children and families during the transition to Thriving Kids;
• Consult meaningfully with workers, unions, families, and the disability community.

Children and families deserve stability. Workers deserve respect. Our community deserves properly funded and staffed early childhood early intervention services.