Child Care News
Childcare centre labelled overdevelopment by Land and Environment Court
Central Western Daily - Danielle Cetinski - December 21, 2017THE commissioner assessing a Land and Environment Court appeal for a childcare centre in Turner Crescent has described the development application (DA) as "simply too much". Senior Commissioner Rosemary Martin refused Australian Childcare Solutions'' DA on Thursday on several grounds...
Childcare's poor cousin: an over-arching strategy for after-school care is sorely needed
WA Today - Caitlin Fitzsimmons - December 19, 2017It's symptomatic of a wider problem, in that the demand for after-school care has grown and will continue to grow, but there's no grand strategy to accommodate it. When the majority of schools were built, there was no thought given to after-school care. In the 1950s and '60s...
Grandparents put their feet up after a year of helping the rest of us achieve the impossible
Sydney Morning Herald - William McKeith - December 19, 2017I suspect there are many grandparents feeling a sense of relief this week – feet up for a break from the routine tasks involved in ferrying grandchildren to and from school and pre-school. After-school carers, taxis and loving listeners for the enthusiastic stories from grandchildren in their care...
Myefo: Morrison unveils cuts to welfare, universities and family payments
The Guardian - Katharine Murphy & Gareth Hutchens - December 18, 2017The government will save $400m by withholding lump sum payments under family tax benefits for people with outstanding social security, student assistance, or paid parental leave debts from December 2018. The government will also save $1bn over four years by tightening...
Wimmera Southern Mallee early years services trial sites announced
Ararat Advertiser - Carly Werner - December 18, 2017The Wimmera Southern Mallee Early Years Steering Committee selected communities for a state government-funded trial, where residents will develop early years models that work best in their communities. The models – to be tested over three years – will incorporate maternal...
ACT parenting body says children missing out on preschool
Canberra Times - Emily Baker - December 18, 2017Some Canberra families are not sending their children to preschool because of a shortage of places in their local early childhood education centres, according to the peak body for public school parents. ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Associations president Kirsty McGovern-Hooley...
Childcare program slugged for housekeeping
The Australian - Rick Morton - December 18, 2017Childcare providers in a small federal government program for children whose parents work abnormal hours or live remotely have abused hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of taxpayer funding, in some cases charging $135 an hour for care and housekeeping. Education Minister...
Melbourne University throws shade on its own childcare centre
The Age - Madeleine Heffernan - December 17, 2017A childcare centre owned by the University of Melbourne will be without sunlight for most of the year after it builds a 14-storey student accommodation next door. Childcare centres are not subject to protections from overshadowing and overlooking because they are not...
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian joins residents concerned over Channel Nine site
Sydney Morning Herald - Andrew Taylor - December 17, 2017"Concern is raised with the proposed child care centre on this site due to potentially damaging exposure to electromagnetic radiation from the adjoining transmissions tower," the submission said. "The additional number of dwellings resulting in a more intense use of the site...
Children aged 11 deemed to not need child care under new government subsidy rules
The Courier Mail - Jackie Sinnerton - December 16, 2017Under legislation coming into effect next year, children from age 11 are considered "young adults" who have no need for child care. High schoolchildren will no longer be eligible for subsidies for vacation, before and after school care. Many high school children in Queensland...
Do ask, do tell: Commission calls for mandatory reporting of child sex abuse
Sydney Morning Herald - Melissa Cunningham - December 15, 2017People working closely with children, such as priests or foster carers, should be forced to tell police about sexual abuse under mandatory reporting laws, a royal commission has found. Religious ministers, out-of-home care...
Former chair Hutson sues G8 for legal costs
The Australian - Lisa Allen - December 15, 2017The former chairwoman of the nation's largest childcare operator, the $2.4 billion G8 Education, is suing the group for non-payment of her legal costs in relation to the company's ongoing investigation by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. Queensland businesswoman...
NSW school gates to be unlocked this summer for general public use
The Daily Telegraph - Anna Caldwell - December 14, 2017Education Minister Rob Stokes said he was open to considering all kinds of arrangements, even subsidised use of halls for something like childcare activities. The initial trial this summer holiday will open up playgrounds, ovals and sports courts at 42 schools across the state for public use...
A mother's love for her baby isn't a barrier to work. The problem is more complex than that
ABC News - Lisa Bryant - December 14, 2017Of the women that told the ABS they want to work more, a quarter say that childcare is their main barrier - 20 per cent of these women said cost was the barrier, while 14 per cent said it was availability. But remember those brave 39 per cent told the statisticians they actually wanted to look...
Low wage rises have become routine. Here's why
Sydney Morning Herald - Peter Martin - December 13, 2017The Treasury says automation and competition from overseas is eating away at routine jobs, both blue collar and white collar, especially those enjoyed by middle-income workers. It's the non-routine ones that are growing. Some are highly paid. Others, such as security work and child care, are very...
