At a time when families are struggling to make ends meet,it’s an economic own-goal for the government not to fix childcare disincentives once and for all.
Childcare fees continue to impact the career choices of parents,although costs overall decreased last quarter following subsidy changes.
A Brisbane mother has spoken for the first time about her concerns regarding childcare safety after an alleged incident involving her three-year-old daughter and the man now accused of being Australia’s worst-ever paedophile.
The Greens accused the government of making women wait for much-needed reforms after it wouldn’t commit to the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce recommendations.
Jessica Rudd admits she led a life of privilege until she had children,when she realised how the inequality built into the childcare system hurt working women
The transformation of childcare into a “luxury” service is deeply troubling,as it creates an environment where essential care and education are unreachable for many.
A council in Melbourne’s south-east is considering closing three childcare centres,leaving dozens of families scrambling to find other vacancies before the new year.
Subsidies alone can’t fix our childcare affordability crisis or our declining national birth rate. But increasing supply certainly can.
Education Minister Jason Clare says the idea of calling out childcare providers that are making over-the-top profits “makes a lot of sense to me”.
The ACCC found families were spending as much as 16 per cent of their income on centre-based full-time daycare,and called on government to consider changes to policies such as the Child Care Subsidy.
Families say they’ve been driven out of local kindergartens and pushed to more expensive options as the government’s free kinder program exceeds capacity.