Child Care News
Five ideas to help fix Australia's tax system
The Conversation - Miranda Stewart - April 11, 2016Most importantly, the government should fix the high effective tax rates caused by interactions between income tax, family benefits and childcare payments. These contribute to keeping many women with young children out of the workforce or in part-time work. That in turn reduces their...
Too poor to retire: More Australians than ever will work past 70
Sydney Morning Herald - Nick Toscano - April 11, 2016Retirement before 70 is "out of the question" for Melbourne woman Kerrie Devir, who has worked in childcare for 33 years. "When I look into the possibility of retirement, it's a financial train wreck of massive proportions," she said. "Because my wages have been so low and continue to be so low...
Miranda Devine: A Bill that we just really can't afford
Daily Telegraph - Miranda Devine - April 10, 2016And it's not as if all this free government money does much good, apart from fuelling a bureaucratic leviathan. Childcare fees keep rising in step with government subsidies. And the more we spend on education, the worse our students perform. It's clear Labor has learned nothing from its...
Remote childcare schemes not working for Northern Territory families on cattle stations
ABC News Rural - Daniel Fitzgerald - April 8, 2016Government subsidies for remote childcare have not been taken up by any Northern Territory members of the Isolated Children's Parent's Association (ICPA). The Nanny Pilot Program and the In-Home Care scheme were some of the main topics of conversation at the ICPA's NT conference in...
Childcare centre ordered to pay former employee $7900 after she was sacked over working with children check concerns
Smart Company - Broede Carmody - April 8, 2016A small business owner has been ordered to pay a former employee $7900 after she was sacked soon after raising concerns with a government department about the business and its working with children check requirements. Maria Gubern started working for Mimi Family Daycare...
Bill Shorten wins over two thirds of undecided voters at People's Forum
The Courier Mail - Steven Scott and Jessica Marszalek - April 8, 2016BILL Shorten has won over a group of undecided voters with pledges to cut the cost of childcare, lower private health insurance rebates and prop up the steel industry. More than two-thirds of undecided voters from Australia's notionally most marginal seat of Petrie said they were more likely to vote...
Commercial investors back with a bang, says Burgess Rawson
Financial Review - Larry Schlesinger - April 6, 2016The standout result across both days was the 100 per cent clearance rate achieved from seven childcare centres, with yields ranging from a record-low 3.9 per cent in Chatswood to 6.9 per cent for a centre in Littlehampton in the Adelaide Hills, which sold for $3.46 million. This was one of two...
Miranda: Will nanny service be viable for rural parents?
The Weekly Times - Genevieve Barlow - April 6, 2016An estimated 600-plus families in Victoria have been selected to take part. So far I've been unable to ascertain how many are from rural areas, but just 37 per cent of applications for the national program were from families living in regional or remote areas. Time will tell whether it will be the...
The five fertility perks employers are using to get female talent
Women's Agenda - Annika Balau - April 6, 2016Childcare is another benefit gaining traction in the employee perks arms race, offered by companies like Google. While onsite childcare remains relatively rare, employers are subsidizing off-site childcare costs through childcare plans. Back here in Australia, childcare affordability features...
Childcare centre sells on record yield at portfolio auction
Financial Review - Larry Schlesinger - April 5, 2016A childcare centre in Chatswood on Sydney's North Shore sold for $2.41 million on a record low yield of 3.9 per cent to a local investor, as part of a Burgess Rawson portfolio auction that generated more than $35 million in sales. The portfolio auction of 19 properties generated stronger results...
Senate Committee recommends child care changes pass Parliament
ABC News - Julie Doyle - April 4, 2016A Senate inquiry into the Federal Government's $3 billion overhaul of child care has recommended the bill pass Parliament. The Senate''s Education Committee looked into the impact of a proposal to streamline rebates paid to parents into one means-tested subsidy. It found the package would...
The influence of gender in work expense claims
Financial Review - Joanna Mather - April 4, 2016"By contrast, a parent who needs to pay for childcare in order to be able to work in a very real and practical sense, cannot claim the childcare costs as a deductible expense. The reason is that the childcare costs are considered to be in the 'private' domain, whereas the flight to Vienna is not, at least...
Government's childcare changes could restrict access to learning: Indigenous peak body
ABC News - Bridget Brennan - April 4, 2016Aboriginal childcare centres are worried the Federal Government's planned changes to the sector could derail progress on a Closing the Gap target. If the Government's Jobs for Families Child Care legislation passes Parliament, many Aboriginal childcare centres face changes to the way they are funded...
Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now
Motley Fool - James Mickleboro - April 4, 2016Child care operator G8 Education was upgraded by brokers to a strong buy last week. This upgrade could be related to news that Chinese investors have been buying up childcare centres in Australia. These investors have been paying over the odds in some cases to get their hands on centres. It is...
SA childcare centres want staffing rules eased to end crippling shortages
The Advertiser - Katrina Stokes - April 3, 2016CHILDCARE providers want the State Government to relax prohibitive staffing restrictions that are exacerbating waiting lists and leading to frustrated parents being turned away from centres, raising fears they will risk unregulated care. Industry bodies say many centres have no places left...
