Child Care News

Simon Birmingham: reforms will cap fee increases for childcare
The Australian - Verity Edwards - January 9, 2017

Education Minister Simon Birmingham has called on Labor to stop blocking changes to planned­ childcare legislation, which he says will cap fee increas­es and hold centres account­able for price rises. The federal government's Early Childhood and Child Care summary for the March quarter...

Taste of other languages for 30,000 children through play-based program
Herald Sun - Annika Smethurst - January 8, 2017

The Early Learning Language Australia program, introduced by the Abbott government, allows youngsters to learn one of seven languages - Mandarin, Japanese, Indonesian, Spanish, Italian, Arabic or French - using tablet apps and interactive games available in childcare centres. An extra two languages...

Childcare costs to soar past $200 a day unless government steps in, analysis warns
Herald Sun - Stephen Drill - January 7, 2017

Families will be paying up to $223 a day for childcare costs unless there is a drastic shake up of government rebates, new figures show. An analysis shows that childcare fees will rise by up to 22 per cent over the next four years, pushing the cost of childcare to the point where some mothers would be working...

Mayfield Childcare operational update
Finance News Network - Lee Brooks - January 5, 2017

Newly-listed Mayfield Childcare Limited (ASX:MFD) says it has achieved some key operational goals within its five weeks on the stock market. The child care operator says it has managed to gain government rebate approval for all 16 of its centres within 2 week of operation. Negotiations with Westpac...

Row over childcare places
News.com.au - January 2, 2017

The federal opposition has warned of a looming shortage of childcare places. But the government has dismissed the report as "scaremongering" and an embarrassing incapacity to understand projections. Labor's early childhood education spokeswoman Kate Ellis on Monday seized on forecast figures in...

Gold Coast childcare worker suing Goodstart Early Learning for $200k after injured changing nappy
Gold Coast Bulletin - Alexandria Utting - January 2, 2017

A CHILDCARE worker is suing an Oxenford kindy for more than $200,000 after she hurt her back while changing the nappy of an "uncooperative" toddler. Stephanie Lauren Fry lodged a statement of claim against Goodstart Early Leaning in the Southport District Court late last month.The 27-year...

Australian families face chronic shortage of childcare places
Herald Sun - Annika Smethurst - January 1, 2017

AUSTRALIA faces a chronic shortage of childcare spots with the number of children accessing subsidised care to grow by almost 300,000 over the next three years. The latest government figures, released as part of the midyear budget update, reveal that the number of children needing care will swell to...

Childcare costs higher than earnings for women who want to stay in careers
The Daily Telegraph - Ashleigh Gleeson - December 31, 2016

A GROWING number of Sydney women pay more for childcare than they earn by working. Yet they persevere for reasons including not wanting to be out of the workforce too long, mental stimulation and keeping their sense of identity. Berowra Heights mum Polly Connolly has three children under age...

Fair trade authorities to probe anti-vax advocates over fundraising
The Australian - Kylar Loussikian - December 28, 2016

Fair trading authorities will investigate the Australian Vaccination-sceptics Network, the activists who this week called off their High Court attempt to overturn the federal government's so-called "no jab, no pay" policy, over concerns about improper fundraising. The organisation late on Christmas...

Victoria, NSW still struggling to control family daycare sector
The Australian - Rick Morton - December 27, 2016

Victoria, the only state with a growing number of family ­daycare services, is also the jurisdiction with the largest number of problems in a crisis-stricken sector, new data shows. The family daycare sector, which has been rorted for more than $1 billion in just two years, has been the subject of a federal...

Little people, big data: why childcare landlords are chasing algorithms too
Financial Review - Nick Lenaghan - December 27, 2016

What started as a cottage industry is now embracing artificial intelligence, as childcare centres owners harness the predictive power of big data to forecast supply and demand. Put simply, while their little tenants are tripping through their ABCs, childcare landlords are firing up complex algorithms to divine...

Discount on preschool fees worth less than the price of a flat white
Herald Sun - Bruce McDougall - December 24, 2016

THE Baird government promised "the largest single preschool fee reduction in NSW history" yet some parents will save just a few dollars a day. Despite the government's claim of an average fee of $22 per day next year under a $115 million subsidy, many families will pay between $60 and $150 for vital...

Children on autism spectrum disorder 'cusp' missing out on early intervention, says child psychologist
ABC News - Kate Hill - December 22, 2016

A Naracoorte child psychologist says children on the cusp of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be missing out on vital early treatment because parents or educators may not realise a child needs specialist intervention. "The earlier the detection, the better the outcome," said Lana...

MYEFO: costs a saving grace as tax tally tailored again
The Australian - David Uren - December 20, 2016

Tax revenue is again failing to rise in line with Treasury's forecasts, however the bottom line would have been much worse without a big fall in childcare and Age Pension costs. Revenue estimates have been cut by $30.1 billion over the next four years, extending a pattern of revenue being over-estimated in every budget...

MYEFO: nanny pilot places to be slashed
The Australian - Rick Morton - December 20, 2016

The super fragile nanny pilot turned out to be atrocious. More than $170 million will be cut from the trial over two years and the number of places reduced from 3000 to just 500, after the government struggled to stoke ­interest. The $250m Interim Home Based Carer Subsidy Program was one of the signature...