The Department of Education, Skills and Employment has released the latest report on the early childhood development of Australian children. The Australian Early Development Census 2021 found that the percentage of children who were on track on five domains decreased from 55.4 per cent in 2018 to 54.8 per cent in 2021 and the percentage of children developmentally vulnerable on one or more domain(s) increased from 21.7 per cent in 2018 to 22.0 per cent in 2021. The report discusses equity trends and the early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.