Child Care News
Childcare pay rise 'affordable': Shorten
SBS News - May 11,2019Labor says it can afford its $10 billion childcare worker pay rise while also balancing the federal budget better than the coalition. It is understood the pay top-up will be limited to qualified staff in commonwealth-funded centres, and exclude those in local and state government-backed facilities...
John X to take the reins at National Simultaneous Storytime at Hobart Library
Mercury - Chanel Kinniburgh - May 11, 2019TASMANIAN actor and comedian John X will put his spin on Matt Cosgrove’s children’s book Alpacas with Maracas as part of National Simultaneous Storytime. Every year an Australian picture book is read simultaneously in libraries, bookshops, schools and childcare centres ...
Doctors warn shortage of measles vaccine could leave some vulnerable
The Courier Mail - Sophie Chirgwin - May 11, 2019TOP doctors are warning a shortage of the measles vaccine could leave some Queenslanders unvaccinated and vulnerable. Doctor Richard Kidd, of Australian Medical Association Queensland, was originally concerned the shortage would leave babies vulnerable and children unvaccinated...
Parents in ‘ugly’ clash with Perth childcare operators
Hills Gazette Community - Sarah Brookes - May 10, 2019POLICE were called to a tense standoff between parents and the operators of a community childcare centre in Perth’s east today. The Hills Gazette understands children were locked inside the Little Possums daycare centre while parents barred ‘unauthorised’ staff from accessing the Mundaring site...
Childcare 'scammers who rorted $4million from taxpayers held and livestreamed a fake GRADUATION CEREMONY so their ruse seemed more convincing'
Daily Mail Australia - Nic White - May 10, 2019A syndicate accused of scamming $4 million in government childcare subsidies allegedly staged a fake graduation ceremony to help sell the con. Red Roses Family Day Care went to extraordinary lengths to make what police claim was an elaborate ruse appear legitimate...
Harcourt Street childcare centre should not go ahead, report finds
Bendigo Advertiser - Tom O'Callaghan - May 10, 2019A NEW childcare centre overlooking Ewing Park would have unacceptable impacts on neighbours and sportspeople, a council report says. It recommends councillors knock back plans for a 110-children childcare centre at next Wednesday's City of Greater Bendigo council meeting...
UNSW academic calls for more thoughtful and proactive Government support for ECEC
The Sector - Freya Lucas - May 10, 2019Adjunct Professor Michael Traill AM, a renowned social investment advocate and non-executive Chair of Goodstart Early Learning, has called on the major political parties to “prioritise their policies on care of the elderly, education and housing during the run-up to the federal election.” ...
New Kinder Hub on the way for Morwell
The Sector - Freya Lucas - May 10, 2019More Kindergarten places will be created for families in Victoria’s Gippsland region, with work beginning on a “one stop shop” for kindergarten, school and family services. Ground was broken in the region yesterday by Victorian Minister for Education, James Merlino...
Alleged day-care fraud mastermind made $30,000 a fortnight
The Age - Lucy Cormack - May 10, 2019The alleged mastermind behind a $4 million day-care fraud syndicate enjoyed a take-home salary of about $30,000 a fortnight, funding a lavish lifestyle of luxury cars and a number of properties across Sydney. It can also be revealed that Alee Farmann was previously the target of a suspected...
Grandparents take vital role in filling childcare gaps
Bendigo Advertiser - May 10, 2019Many families rely on grandparents to fill in their childcare gaps. Some care for a baby whose parents can't find enough daycare placements, while others care for children before and after school. In fact, there are estimates that almost one-in-four children receives at least some care from their grandparents...
Why childcare subsidies are unfair and unnecessary
Australian Financial Review - Duncan Spender - May 9, 2019There are obviously votes in subsidising childcare, because the major parties keep ratcheting them up. Yet they are poor public policy - unfair and unnecessary. Childcare subsidies are effectively a transfer from taxpayers who don’t have children to those who do. They are also a transfer of money from...
How much raising kids costs women
Australian Financial Review - Bianca Hartge-Hazelman - May 9, 2019Is it worth returning to work given the cost of childcare? It’s a question that women shouldn’t have to ask themselves, but many do, without considering their long-term financial security. Career breaks to have children are a key contributor to the gender pay and superannuation savings gap...
No place for fraud in our sector, FDCA says, in light of 18 arrests yesterday
The Sector - Freya Lucas - May 9, 2019Peak body Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) issued a statement in relation to the arrests, outlining their “unequivocal support” for “compliance activities to eradicate unscrupulous operators from using family day care as a vehicle for fraudulent behaviour”. FDCA CEO, Andrew Patterson, said...
Millennials’ guide to the 2019 Australian federal election
The Daily Telegraph - Claire Bickers - May 9, 2019Here’s what the major parties and the Greens say they’ll do about the big issues, from school and health funding to wages and climate change. Labor has committed to spend $4 billion to boost the childcare rebate for 887,000 families. Low income families, earning up to $69,000, would get their child care free...
Federal election 2019: Unions use Labor childcare policy to drum up membership
The West Australian - Lanai Scarr - May 9, 2019Union reps have been increasing their visits to childcare centres trying to drum up membership following Bill Shorten’s pledge to boost worker pay in the sector. The move has been slammed as an attempt by the peak childcare union United Voice to “capitalise” on Mr Shorten’s union ties...
