Child Care News
Investigations into childcare centres misleading parents
Daily Telegraph - Annabel Hennessey - January 21, 2017SYDNEY'S worst-rated childcare providers have been caught misleading prospective parents about their shoddy standards in a Saturday Telegraph sting. The findings have sparked Early Childhood Education Minister Leslie Williams to last night order the Eduction Department to conduct an...
Childcare: Nesha O'Neil in battle with IEU accusing her of ripping off workers tens of thousands
Daily Telegraph - Kelly Burke - January 19, 2017CHILDCARE teachers and their union are locked in battle over pay with one of the state's most high profile early childhood education advocates. Nesha O'Neil, vice-president of the Australian Childcare Alliance, has denied claims she is required to pay redundancy and severance pay entitlements worth...
FactCheck: what are the facts on rising child care prices?
The Conversation - Ben Phillips & Guyonne Kalb - January 18, 2017As the working year starts again and many children return to formal child care, Education Minister Simon Birmingham has called on Labor to support a suite of reforms he says will ensure prices rise more slowly. Simon Birmingham said the Coalition has "had great success in terms of reducing...
How fake nature in child care centres could be damaging
The Age - Henrietta Cook - January 15, 2017Three Melbourne centres have recently been granted exemptions to national regulations which state that they must provide every child with at least seven square metres of outdoor space. They have instead created "simulated outdoor environments" – think synthetic grass, murals of forests...
Unvaccinated SA children to be sent home from preschool during disease outbreaks
ABC News - January 14, 2017Unimmunised children will be asked to stay away from South Australian preschools and care centres when there is a disease outbreak as part of a new procedure. Parents and carers will be asked to provide government pre-schools and care services with details of their children's immunisations...
Legislative loophole lets childcare centres double-dip
Daily Telegraph - Natasha Bita - January 14, 2017TAXPAYERS are being double-billed for childcare rebates as daycare centres exploit a loophole that lets them charge twice for the same spot. The legislative loophole lets centres bill parents for daycare when children are off sick or on holidays - and then flog the spare spot to another family...
Government regulations hinder affordable childcare in rural areas
ABC News - Larissa Romensky - January 13, 2017While the Federal Government tries to get its $3 billion childcare reform package through parliament many rural families say their needs are different to their urban counterparts. Sandie and Joshua Richmond from Birchip in western Victoria are frustrated by not being able to access the...
Melbourne childcare centre to offer late-night opening hours to help busy parents
Herald Sun - Elissa Doherty - January 13, 2017BUSY parents doing long hours in the office has sparked a Melbourne childcare centre to offer late-night opening hours to cope with demand to look after kids around the clock. And now Genius Childcare in Melbourne's CBD is considering rolling out 24-hour care to assist parents doing shift...
Treasury's forecast tax take out by $30bn
The Australian - David Uren - January 13, 2017Treasury's budget forecasts for personal and company tax were out by almost $30 billion just six months later, but the bottom-line impact would have been much worse had it not been for big downward revisions to the cost of childcare, age pensions and carer support. Parliamentary Budget Office analysis shows...
Spanish and Chinese the most popular language choices at childcare centres
The Daily Telegraph - Natasha Bita - January 12, 2017"Appy" kids are getting a jump-start learning a foreign language, with Chinese and Spanish the most popular choices in childcare centres. More than 30,000 preschoolers will use online apps to learn a language this year through the Turnbull government's...
‘Moderate' amount of child care good for grandparents, study finds
The Courier Mail - Jackie Sinnerton - January 12, 2017Grandparents who occasionally look after the grandchildren can add five years to their lives. But those who have the children fulltime are negatively impacted, both mentally and physically. New Australian research from Edith Cowan University, in WA, highlights the benefits of older people acting as caregivers...
Childcare top chief's making huge salaries, as Sydney childcare soars to almost $200 a day
The Daily Telegraph - Natasha Bita - January 11, 2017Childcare chiefs are pocketing sky-high salaries as parents and taxpayers bankroll a billion-dollar profit for daycare operators. The nation's largest listed daycare operator, G8 Education, will pay chief executive Gary Carroll $725,000 this year, plus superannuation. And a performance bonus could...
Senator David Leyonhjelm's childcare comments leave viewers gobsmacked
News.com.au - James Weir, Kim Stephens & Benedict Brook - January 11, 2017Federal Senator David Leyonhjelm has been labelled a “dinosaur stuck in the past” following much-criticised comments he made about childcare workers on TV show The Project. However, the Liberal Democrat politician has refused to back down from controversial remarks where he summarised the role of childcare...
Inspired by Sesame Street: Canberra start-up secures $4m funding for new preschool program
The Canberra Times - Bree Winchester - January 9, 2017Preschool Play is a brand new online content platform, designed to give preschoolers and their teachers a "really brilliant start to the day" by encouraging learning through a nine-minute burst of singing and dancing. It's a modern take on Sesame Street, which was famously developed for television...
Childcare costs rise 6.8% to average fee of $8.50 an hour
The Guardian - Paul Karp - January 9, 2017Average childcare costs have risen 6.8% in a year, prompting Australia's education minister, Simon Birmingham, to renew calls for cuts to family tax benefits to fund a restructured childcare rebate. On Sunday the education department released an update of childcare costs that shows in March 2016 the average...
