Economic configurations like poverty, housing stress, and financial hardship are fundamental social determinants affecting childhood development and wellbeing in Australia. Poverty is said to be at its most basic when income is insufficient to pay for the barest essentials, commonly measured against a relative poverty line (ACOSS 2023). Housing stress sets in when spending exceeds 30 per cent of a household's income on housing, and thus little remains for purchasing other times of essentials (AIHW 2023). More encompassing in its range of difficulties, financial hardship may sometimes mean the inability to meet usual expenses due to low or irregular income, the precariousness of employment, or unforeseen crisis situations. Within the realm of early childhood education, such circumstances impede children's ability to access good learning environments, nutritious food, medical care, and stable accommodation- all necessary for proper development (Moore et al., 2017).
From an academic point of view, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory enables a look into the influence of larger socio-economic dynamics on the immediate settings of a child, such as family and early learning environments (microsystem) (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Other sociological theories such as conflict theory argue that structural inequalities create cycles of disadvantages, whereas functionalist approaches highlight the role of education in fostering social mobility (Goldfeld et al., 2018). In Australia, economic disadvantages are unevenly distributed and shaped by intersecting factors like geography, cultural background, disability, and family structure. Data over recent years shows that one in six children in Australia lives in poverty, with a greater number of single-parent families and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities affected (ACOSS, 2023). The shifting show of these economic pressures requires ECE professionals to respond flexibly, culturally sensitively, and on an evidence-based basis (Department of Education, 2022).