Child Care News
Funding to improve preschool access
Mirage News - June 29, 2020Families across NSW will have better access to community preschools with additional funding to increase enrolment capacity. The NSW Government will fund $10 million to support the creation of additional enrolments as part of the Start Strong Capital Works Grants for preschools...
Rendering offers glimpse of nearly completed Maranatha Gunyah
Wellington Times - June 29, 2020A rendering penned by childcare furniture manufacturer STEP4 offers a glimpse into Wellington's nearly-completed Maranatha Gunyah. Combining childcare with aged care, it is set to become Australia's first purpose built centre offering intergenerational care and learning...
Melbourne childcare centres closed
Australian Financial Review - Ronald Mizen and Natasha Boddy - June 29, 2020Two childcare centres in Melbourne are closed today after being linked to confirmed cases of COVID-19. The Guardian childcare centre on Cumberland Road in Pascoe Vale has asked parents to pick up their children this morning. Earlier this morning Guardian's Abbotsford centre was closed...
MindChamps partners developer for 10 new childcare centres in Australia
The Business Times Singapore - Vivienne Tay - June 29, 2020MINDCHAMPS PreSchool on Monday said it has partnered property developer Malek Family to expand its footprint in Australia. Malek Family has purchased the rights to develop 10 new purpose-built MindChamps childcare centres in New South Wales and Victoria, the preschool operator...
Why free childcare is the key to economic recovery
Women's Agenda - Georgie Dent - June 29, 2020New research by The Australia Institute’s Nordic Policy Centre reveals that policies that make it easier for women to choose to go back to work will see the country recover faster from the COVID-19 economic crisis. It will also deliver billions in benefits for all Australians over the long-run...
New laws and changes that will affect Australia from July 1, 2020 and beyond
Herald Sun - Shoba Rao - June 28, 2020Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan has announced the targeted free childcare scheme introduced in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic will come to an end on July 12, with a return to child care subsidy program on July 13. He said providers were “on the brink of collapse” when...
'Take action now': Call to open borders to au pairs
The Sydney Morning Herald - Caitlin Fitzsimmons - June 28, 2020Families who use au pairs are scrambling for alternative childcare as about 10,000 backpackers leave Australia every month and new ones are barred from entry because of border restrictions. Wendi Aylward, an executive for the Cultural Au Pair Association of Australia (CAPAA), said...
NSW childcare centres most hazardous in the country, data reveals
The Daily Telegraph - Christopher Harris - June 27, 2020NSW childcare centres have topped the national shame file, recording the largest number of breaches of safety standards. Children locked in cupboards as punishment, staff unaware that children have simply walked out the front door and children’s arms and legs bound with bed sheets...
Babytalk: Post Pandemic Change
ABC Radio - June 27, 2020This week on the Babytalk podcast a fascinating discussion with an academic who challenges the gender norms that have shaped our society so far. Why should women be the only ones to stay at home and care for a child? Why parents are NOT a burden on society and why parents deserve...
When should I worry about my child’s cold and cough?
Yahoo Lifestyle - Katherine Chatfield - June 26, 2020Most parents have sent their child to school with a sniffle or a cold before. But now several schools in Victoria and NSW have closed due to confirmed cases of COVID-19, is it ever ok to send your kids to mix with others if they’re even just a bit under the weather? The official guidelines...
Goodstart early learning centre in Box Hill closed after another Melbourne coronavirus case
7news.com.au - Lucy Mae Beers - June 26, 2020An early learning centre in Melbourne’s east has closed due to a coronavirus case after a child tested positive. Families were contacted overnight on Thursday to be advised the Goodstart Early Learning centre on Canterbury Road in Box Hill would be closed as a precautionary...
Second Melbourne early learning centre closed over coronavirus case
7news.com.au - Lucy Mae Beers - June 26, 2020Another childcare centre in Melbourne has closed due to a coronavirus case and the child is believed to have been infectious when they attended. On Friday, a child from the Smartie Pants Early Learning Centre in Diamond Creek was confirmed to be one of the 30 new cases in the state...
The Australia Institute notes free childcare as key to economic recovery for our nation
The Sector - Freya Lucas - June 26, 2020The Australia Institute, with its reputation for being one of the country’s most influential and progressive ‘think tanks’ has spoken out in favour of retaining the ‘free childcare’ measures brought in to sustain the early childhood education and care sector, saying that not only is free childcare...
NSW Labor urges extending free preschool
Yahoo News - Heather McNab, AAP - June 26, 2020NSW Labor has called for an extension of free community preschool in the state until at least the end of 2020 to allow parents to return to work during Australia's coronavirus-induced recession. The state government in April pledged more than $130 million to save childcare sector jobs...
Services Australia Podcast: Child Care Subsidy
Mirage News - Public Release - June 25, 2020With the end of the financial year fast approaching, Services Australia General Manager Hank Jongen sat down with mum of two, Hannah, to talk about some of the most common questions we receive on Child Care Subsidy. Many families received Child Care Subsidy for the first time...
