Child Care News
Working mums to hotdesk from childcare room in new service
The Mercury - Susan Oong - July 5, 2018WORK-life balance has taken on a new meaning at a West Hobart childcare centre, which is offering onsite office space for working parents. Goodstart Early Learning is the latest childcare provider to adopt BubDesk, a co-sharing workplace business founded by Tassie-born entrepreneur...
Childcare changes hit harder in certain cities
The Australian - Rick Morton - July 5, 2018Childcare fees in Perth are growing at six times the rate of local inflation, the most disproportionate rate of price hikes anywhere in the country. In the year to March, inflation in Perth was just 1 per cent but prices for childcare services jumped 6 per cent. The rate of fee growth in Sydney...
Childcare shortage in remote NT community forcing some to leave
ABC Radio - Georgia Hitch on AM - July 5, 2018A chronic lack of childcare places at the only creche in the remote Northern Territory community of Wadeye is forcing some parents to consider leaving the community...
Crackdown shocks parents as experts dispute claims that toy guns create violent behaviour
The Daily Telegraph - Bruce McDougall, Henry Lynch & Angira Bharadwaj - July 5, 2018CHILDCARE centres are banning children from playing games such as "cops and robbers" with toy guns and plastic fake knives because of fears they promote violent "warlike" behaviour. Mock pirate swords, bows and arrows and even Lego weapons have also been outlawed by childcare operators...
Queensland Senator pushing for nannies to be tax-deductible
2GB - Deborah Knight - July 4, 2018A Queensland senator is pushing for nannies to become tax-deductible to support parents wanting to get back into the workforce. Liberal Senator Amanda Stoker says nannies are an essential part to the childcare mix for many Australian families, especially those who work odd hours...
KidsCo founders pocket $375,000 deal on Shark Tank despite an awkward moment with Janine Allis
Smart Company - Dominic Powell - July 4, 2018Unlike other holiday programs, KidsCo aims to partner with corporations and businesses to run school holiday programs in-office, meaning kids can go with their parents to work and be educated and entertained during the day while their parents are working. Facing the five sharks, Queensland...
The problem with anything that increases the 'motherhood penalty'
Women's Agenda - Georgina Dent - July 4, 2018So why, then, did I even write it? Why, then, do I believe there is any case for subsidising childcare for even 'wealthy' women? The answer is because there is already a significant 'motherhood penalty' that Australian women with children wear and anything that compounds it and further...
Childcare changes push women to start their own businesses
Sydney Morning Herald - Cara Waters - July 4, 2018Andrea Christie-David started her own business on the day the government's changes to childcare came into effect. The lawyer's childcare fees were about to skyrocket, prompting her to seek the flexibility of running her own business. "With three children under the age of four...
Centrelink website crashes as parents rush to claim new childcare subsidies
SBS News - James Alton-Pym - June 3, 2018Parents attempting to update their details with Centrelink to access the Turnbull government's revamped childcare subsidy have complained the site has been frequently unresponsive over the past few days. The site was shut down over the weekend for "scheduled maintenance"...
'The childcare subsidy is a hand up, not a handout'
Kidspot - Julie Mellor - July 3, 2018In recent weeks I have heard countless complaints about the new childcare subsidy scheme. Many of these grievances are legitimate; an unemployed parent, for example, is going to have a hard time looking for work if they cannot afford to have their children in care, or even...
Why this share could be one of the best income ideas on the ASX
The Motley Fool - Tristan Harrison - July 3, 2018One of the better ideas for income on the ASX could be Arena REIT No 1 (ASX: ARF), it's a real estate investment trust (REIT). The business says that its investment strategy is to invest in sectors such as childcare, healthcare, education and government tenanted facilities leased on...
How many childcare centres is too many?
The Courier Mail - Brendan O'Malley - July 3, 2018A SECOND childcare centre has been proposed only a stone's throw from a controversial facility planned for a congested Bardon character home street. A three-level, 9.5m-high centre has been proposed by Atherton Childcare Investments at 144-146 Boundary Rd opposite the main...
Parents who refuse to vaccinate will be docked money from their family tax benefit from today
News.com.au - Tory Shepherd - July 3, 2018AS PART of the changes for the new financial year, from today parents who refuse to vaccinate their children will be docked money from their family tax benefit.Under the Federal Government "No Jab, No Pay" program, Family Tax Benefit Part A payments will cop a fortnightly $28 reduction...
Learning languages early is key to making Australia more multilingual
The Conversation - Robyn Moloney - July 3, 2018Simon Birmingham recently announced the government will invest an additional A$11.8 million in a successful preschool language learning program. Some 300 languages are spoken in Australia. In the Greater Sydney area alone, nearly 40% of households speak...
Government to name and shame childcare providers who hike fees
The Australian - Rachel Baxendale - July 2, 2018Education Minister Simon Birmingham says the government will name and shame childcare centres which impose excessive fee increases on parents and taxpayers, as the Turnbull government's overhaul of the system comes into effect today. Under the new system, an estimated one...
