Child Care News
'Working for nothing': Childcare crisis pushes Sydney parents to the brink
Sydney Morning Herald - Rachel Browne, Tom Cowie & Steffanie Tan - August 2, 2017Most parents are experiencing substantial difficulties with the financial burden and lack of availability of childcare, with costs that have more than doubled for some families in just over a decade. A national survey, which has tracked more than 17,000 people in 9500 households since 2002, has released...
Free online advertisements for babysitters can come at a cost for desperate parents
ABC News - Saman Shad - August 1, 2017My friend isn't alone in relying on unvetted strangers for child care. Many Facebook groups have been set up in response to the large number of parents looking for someone to care for their kids. There, parents and nannies, babysitters and au pairs can place ads for free. It seems like...
Childcare fees could triple under Tasmanian Government's school start plan, learning centre warns
ABC News - Georgie Burgess - August 1, 2017Tasmanian childcare provider Discovery Early Learning Centres is threatening to scrap plans for a new centre in Bridgewater and is warning six other centres will close if the Government pushes ahead with changes to the school starting age. The Upper House will soon be tasked with deciding...
Legislative councillors still hold concerns about lowering school starting age in Tasmania
The Mercury - Loretta Lohberger - August 1, 2017INDEPENDENT MLCs, who hold the key to the State Government's proposal to lower the school starting age, are eagerly awaiting a report into the social and economic impact of the change. Meanwhile, the union representing the childcare sector is continuing its campaign against the proposal...
The two things most parents get wrong about childcare costs
Sydney Morning Herald - Melanie Browne - August 1, 2017Every week I have a conversation with new or expecting parents where I feel as though I'm stuck in a Groundhog Day moment. That conversation is about the cost of childcare and whether one partner (the woman in 95 per cent of cases) should go back to work. Inevitably the argument presented to...
Mitchelson's Arena REIT in $65m Early Learning Centre play
The Australian - Elizabeth Redman & Ben Wilmot - July 31, 2017The listed Arena REIT Group is on the hunt for more acquisitions in the social infrastructure segment, after snapping up a portfolio of nine Early Learning Centre properties under development in a $65 million play. The group is also eyeing an increase in government funding for childcare services that it...
Arena REIT buys childcare portfolio worth $65m
Financial Review - Nick Lenaghan - July 28, 2017Childcare centre owner Arena REIT will buy out a portfolio of nine facilities under development in a transaction worth $65 million. It is the biggest single deal yet for Arena REIT, underscoring the returns being generated from the growing social infrastructure sector, backed by a flow of government...
Parents warned of antibiotic overload for babies
The Australian - John Ross & Sofia Gronbech Wright - July 28, 2017Australian babies are being overloaded with unnecessary antibiotics, jeopardising their health and accelerating the worldwide threat of antibiotic resistance. An Australian-first study has found the country has one of the highest infant antibiotic prescription rates in the world, with half of all...
It's time for the forgotten women of Australia to rise
Women's Agenda - Kate Ashmore - July 27, 2017The solution is surprisingly simple: if childcare was tax deductible for working parents – sensibly capped and coupled with subsidies for low-income earners – childcare would be more affordable and more educated mothers would work, and for longer hours. Some Forgotten Women of Australia are fighting...
Australia's early childhood education enrolment rates lag
Herald Sun - Monique Hore - July 25, 2017AUSTRALIA'S enrolment rates in early childhood education is lagging on a global stage, despite evidence it gives children a leg up at school. An international report found about 70 per cent of Australian three-year-olds were in formal childcare in 2014. It falls well below France, Germany...
Wage growth: why Is Australia lagging behind?
ABC Nightlife - Philip Clark & Sarah Macdonald - July 25, 2017Why have wages stopped growing especially when prices for services like child care, electricity and healthcare are on a constant rise? Australia's wage growth is at historically record lows, with the wage price index rising a mere 1.9% over the past year. If you work in health, education or the public...
Kindergarteners should learn coding, amid Tasmania's struggles with digital literacy: expert
ABC News - Linda Hunt - July 25, 2017Children from kindergarten onwards should be taught coding to help improve digital literacy in Tasmania, which is an even bigger issue for the state than the NBN rollout, an industry spokesman says. Industry expert William Kestin, who is chief executive of TasICT, has appeared at a federal parliamentary...
SA Government proposes new laws to ban unvaccinated children from childcare and preschool centres
The Advertiser - Lauren Novak - July 23, 2017UNVACCINATED children would be banned from attending childcare, kindergarten or preschool if proposed stricter laws are approved. The State Government has released legislation for public consultation and intends to pass it through Parliament before the end of the year. Parents would need...
Child abuse claims: Rules change will put responsibility on organisations
Daily Telegraph - Linda Silmalis - July 23, 2017ORGANISATIONS responsible for children would no longer be able to sidestep child abuse claims by shifting blame on to individuals under major changes being considered by the state government. The introduction of "non-delegable" duty of care would apply to religious organisations, out-of-home...
Remember to factor in rule changes when buying commercial property in your SMSF
Financial Review - Duncan Hughes - July 20, 2017Bryce Mitchelson, managing director of listed childcare centre landlord Arena Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), says the odds of a downturn in commercial property in Melbourne and Sydney are "well beyond the tipping point". A REIT diversifies risk through investing in several properties in a...
