Child Care News
NSW preschool fees to drop as government unlocks funding
Sydney Morning Herald - James Robertson - September 14, 2016The average cost of preschool for a NSW family is to fall by nearly 30 per cent after the state government announced plans for a cash injection, which experts had warned was overdue. A recent review by the Auditor-General found NSW preschools were the least attended and most costly in the...
Coalition dumps $1000 'baby bonus' to secure budget bill
Financial Review - Phillip Corey - September 13, 2016The federal government has agreed to dump its proposed baby bonus and the Opposition has bent further on welfare cuts for families as part of a compromise to secure the passage of the $6 billion omnibus budget savings bill. Overall, the deal will increase the savings to $6.3 billion, which is $300...
Children at risk from cut-price nannies hired from unregulated sources
The Sunday Mail - Jackie Sinnerton - September 11, 2016The national nanny body has concerns that families may try to cut down on cost of child care services by hiring from unregulated sources. "The association recommends that all families either engage the services of a professional nanny agency to undertake thorough background checks of...
Daycare rorters and criminals sending cash to IS targeted in scam crackdown
The Sunday Telegraph - Samantha Maiden - September 11, 2016DODGY family daycare providers claiming cash rebates for looking after their own kids and criminals sending childcare cash to Islamic State will both face jail in a dramatic crackdown on scams. The government has already stopped daycare dodges worth more than $8 million a week. But others...
Body worry at 3: Preschoolers worry about they way they look
Herald Sun - Susie O'Brien - September 11, 2016AS many as eight out of 10 preschool aged children say they are unhappy with their body. Eight major quantitative studies into the body image of children have found between 60 and 80 per cent are unhappy with the way they look. However, the Australian Catholic University and Deakin...
Boyer Lectures: Sir Michael Marmot urges Australia to invest in early childhood to close Indigenous health gap
ABC News - September 10, 2016He argues the best way to deal with that inequality is investment in early childhood development. "What happens to children in the early years has a profound effect on their life chances and hence their health as adults," he said. "A poor start in life, of course, affects everything that happens...
Taxpayers lose as crony capitalism takes over childcare, hospitals
The Australian - Judith Sloan - September 10, 2016This time it occurred to me that many of our listed companies fell into the crony capitalism category. What got me really thinking about this was the news that local childcare operator All About Children (my daughter and her friends call it All About Cash) had been sold to an overseas investment....
Childcare educators make their case for much higher pay
Sydney Morning Herald - Nick Toscano - September 9, 2016Low-paid childcare educators from across the country will converge in Canberra next week to fight for a major investment of public funds into their wages. It comes as the daycare sector was hit with industrial strife for the first time in 30 years on Thursday, when staff walked off the job at several...
Talking Point: Too much too young is dangerous
The Mercury - Steve Biddulph - Septermber 9, 2016About half of all children are raised - and in fact have their early learning - from an at-home parent who is secure enough and part of their community - with playgroups, toys, activities, lively and involved, needing very little else before entering kindergarten at the age of four. A second group for...
Childcare workers walk off the job for first time in 30 years to campaign for better pay
Herald Sun - Tiffany Korssen - September 8, 2016OVER 100 early childhood educators walked off the job today to demand better pay and proper recognition for their valuable work. The strike meant about 500 children went home early from several childcare centres across Melbourne - but workers said the strike was "overwhelmingly supported" ...
Vic childcare workers to walk off the job
9News.com.au - September 8, 2016Children at numerous Victorian childcare centres will be sent home early, as workers walk off the job campaigning for better pay. Workers will stage protests on Thursday, coinciding with Equal Pay Day, calling for a rise in their wage to meet what other educators receive. Early childhood union...
No fines for smoking bans near Victorian childcare centres, schools, kindergartens
Herald Sun - Elissa Doherty - September 7, 2016A LAW to protect children by banning smoking outside schools, preschools, childcare centres and kindergartens has not resulted in a single fine in nearly 18 months. The government approach since the April 2015 ban on smoking within four metres of the buildings' entrances has been to...
Gastro outbreak in WA childcare centres, nursing homes sparks health warning
ABC News - Georgia Loney & Eliza Laschon - September 6, 2016A sharp increase in outbreaks of gastroenteritis in Western Australian childcare centres and nursing homes has prompted a warning from the state's health authorities. In the past six weeks there have been six reported outbreaks at childcare centres and 19 at nursing homes across the state...
A Value Investor's Guide to G8 Education Ltd - Part II
Motley Fool - Sean O'Neill - September 6, 2016A week ago I took a look at G8 Education Ltd's (ASX: GEM) costs and depreciation both compared to its historical norms, and compared to other competitors on the ASX. I found that by and large, G8's costs had remained relatively stable until the sharp rise in costs that rocked shares a few...
Gender pay strikes to shut childcare centres
Sydney Morning Herald - Nick Toscano - September 6, 2016Children in daycare centres will be sent home early on Thursday, as some of the sector's 80,000 mostly female staff strike to narrow the large pay gap between men and women. Several childcare centres in Melbourne's north and south-east will be forced to shut soon after 3pm, and staff will suspend...
