Child Care News
Childcare an essential service for women in small business
Mirage News - May 29, 2020The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell says childcare is an essential service for women in small businesses, calling for ‘free childcare’ to continue beyond the June 30 expiry date. “Women make up more than a third of Australia’s small business ...
Senator Mehreen Faruqi: Childcare is an essential service
Women's Agenda - Senator Mehreen Faruqi - May 29, 2020When I migrated to Australia from Pakistan in 1992 and commenced my studies at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), I quickly realised I could not afford the available childcare in my local area. That’s how I got involved in a campaign to establish affordable, student-centred...
Childcare centres flag fee increases as the only way out of 'free childcare' financial hole
ABC News - Stephanie Zillman - May 29, 2020Brisbane mother Melissa Martino would love to return to work after taking maternity leave but can't find childcare spots for her children. Ms Martino has had her 13-month-old twins on a childcare waiting list for nearly a year. Now ready to return to work part-time at her Brisbane...
'The hardest time in my life': how service providers shoulder the burden of free childcare
The Guardian - Christopher Knaus - May 28, 2020In part three of Stimulus under scrutiny, we look at why the government’s childcare recovery package has sent some operators to the brink of collapse. Tina Case paints a bleak picture when asked about the last two months at her family daycare service in Woy Woy on the ...
One in five Canberra families hit with childcare debts
The Canberra Times - Sally Whyte - May 28, 2020One in five Canberra families accessing the childcare subsidy ended up with a debt last financial year, a higher proportion than any other jurisdiction...
More than 2200 Tassie families hit with child care subsidy debts
Mercury - Claire Bickers - May 28, 2020More than 2200 Tasmanian families have been hit with a child care subsidy debt in a single year. That’s more than one in ten families using child care, sparking calls for the subsidy to be simplified or changed to make it easier for parents to claim. The 2222 Tassie families hit with debts...
Should Australia use the $60b JobKeeper gap to fund free childcare?
6PR 882 News Talk - Gareth Parker - May 28, 2020A former South Australian Premier has written to the Federal Education Minister calling for free childcare to continue ‘indefinitely’. Jay Weatherill now heads up the Minderoo Foundation’s early childhood initiative and is urging Education Minister Dan Tehan to consider the...
The Front Project recommends post COVID-19 funding system reform roadmap for ECEC
The Sector - Jason Roberts - May 28, 2020The Front Project, an independent national enterprise that focuses on the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector, has released its latest report which examines a range of possible funding systems for the sector in light of the unprecedented impact of COVID-19...
After-school sector wants free care extended over winter holidays
The Sydney Morning Herald - Jordan Baker - May 27, 2020The biggest out-of-school-hours care operators want the federal government to extend its free care package to cover the winter holidays, saying there was uncertainty over how many families would still need their services despite students being back in class full-time...
UNSW to close Kanga’s House & outsource its three other early learning services
Women's Agenda - Georgie Dent - May 27, 2020Ordinarily being right is something of a relief. Not now. Being right has never felt worse. In recent days, in my capacity running a campaign for The Parenthood to ensure the longterm sustainability of early childhood education and care, I’ve been attempting to sound an alarm...
Talking Point: How will childcare centres survive?
Mercury News - Ros Cornish - May 27, 2020But the true economic impact across Tasmania and Australia will truly be felt. While not perfect, the Federal Government’s assistance package has been a saviour for many services. The Relief Package and JobKeeper wage subsidy have enabled many services to operate...
Free childcare has shown the benefits of generous government subsidies
Sydney Morning Herald - Jessica Irvine - May 27, 2020One of the weirder moments of the COVID-19 crisis has been watching a conservative government introduce universal free childcare – if only temporarily. Since April 6, none of the 945,000 Australian families with a collective 1.3 million children enrolled in childcare have had to pay...
Yarning for reconciliation - how a preschool language program can help close the gap
South Coast Register - Zoe Cartwright - May 27, 2020Noah's Inclusion Services work with some of the youngest members of the Shoalhaven to improve kids' speech and share Indigenous language. The Sounds, Words, Aboriginal language and Yarning program (SWAY) targets preschool aged children in areas with a high Indigenous population...
Decision on Wahroonga childcare centre after legal challenge
Daily Telegraph - David Barwell - May 27, 2020A longwinded battle over plans for a new childcare on a residential street in Sydney’s upper north shore has been settled in court after an appeal was launched by developers. Heritage House Childcare and Early Learning has been given the go-ahead to demolish a home at 44 Fox Valley Rd...
CCC makes a series of recommendations before CCS and parents’ fees are reinstated
The Sector - Freya Lucas - May 27, 2020As the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector awaits an anticipated announcement in relation to a return to child care subsidy (CCS) as signaled by the Prime Minister last week, a number of core advocacy organisations, including the Community Child Care Association (CCC)...
