Child Care News

Viable tax options remain
Business News - Matt Mckenzie - March 1, 2016

That is due to family payments, particularly childcare, being clawed back or tapering off at certain income levels, which combine with high marginal tax rates on labour income to as a huge disincentive on female workforce participation. "I think that needs to be addressed, through a different system in...

Parents leaving kids to fend for themselves
Herald Sun - Elissa Doherty - March 1, 2016

SCHOOLS are cracking down on parents who are avoiding paying for out of hours care by leaving kids unsupervised in the playground before and after school. Primary principals are concerned about the safety of students being dropped off as early as 8am when teachers aren't on duty. Some schools...

Property trust cashing in on childcare demand
Financial Review - Nick Lenaghan - February 29, 2016

Investors in Arena REIT got more than they bargained for when the childcare property landlord announced an upgrade to its full-year distribution forecast at its interim results. The real estate investment trust expects to deliver a 9 per cent increase in its 2016 full-year distribution to 10.9¢ per security...

Porn 'turning kids into predators'
The Australian - Natasha Bita - February 29, 2016

Emeritus professor Freda Briggs, who has advised federal and state governments, police and church groups on child safety for 30 years, has accused schools and childcare centres of ignoring or covering up a spate of "child-on-child abuse". She has blown the whistle on a regional kindergarten in South...

Childcare workers hit the streets to campaign on pay
Sydney Morning Herald - Rachel Browne - February 28, 2016

A date for the federal election is yet to be set but childcare workers launched a pre-emptive campaign on Saturday, door knocking hundreds of homes in marginal electorates across Australia to declare their frustration with inaction on their wages claim. Hundreds of early childhood specialists...

Australian Childcare Alliance flags concerns over Senate inquiry into planned overhaul of childcare sector
ABC News - Julie Doyle - February 27, 2016

The Australian Childcare Alliance says it is worried a Senate inquiry into the Government's planned overhaul of the sector will only hear limited evidence. The Senate's Education and Employment Committee is inquiring into the Government's proposal to streamline childcare rebates and introduce a tougher...

Childcare centre danger: Heavy traffic remains free to rush past nearby children
The Daily Telegraph - Janet Fife-Yeomans- February 27, 2016

As the Australian Childcare Alliance met with NSW planning officials last week to discuss some uniform childcare safety regulations, children's rights advocates have called for concrete bollards to be placed outside every centre and consideration given to 40km/h speed limits like those outside schools...

Mason Parker's grandparents wait for vote on mandatory abuse reporting in childcare centres
Townsville Bulletin - Rachel Riley - February 25, 2016

QUALIFIED childcare staff will be required to report suspected cases of child abuse if the recommendation of a year-long study is made law. The report by the Queensland Law Reform Commission, dated December 2015, was tabled in Parliament yesterday, almost four years after the death of toddler...

Training colleges banned from speaking of student loans scheme
The Australian - Natasha Bita - February 25, 2016

Training colleges have been gagged­ from telling students they can pay for costly courses through the federal government's student loans scheme. The federal Education Department has issued tough new recruitment­ rules for training colleges, after admitting that one in three students will not get a quality...

Indigenous children to be big losers in childcare package: report
Sydney Morning Herald - Judith Ireland - February 24, 2016

Indigenous children will be big losers in the Turnbull government's new childcare package, according to research by Deloitte Access Economics.The analysis, commissioned by the peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait children, finds more than 50 per cent of families currently accessing a government...

ASIC's surrender puts Eddy Groves back in business
The Australian - Ben Butler & Christine Lacy - February 24, 2016

The corporate regulator has slammed the book closed on its long-running investigation into Eddy Groves and his failed ABC Learning childcare empire, declaring no further charges will be laid over the $1.6 billion collapse. Coming just a fortnight after Mr Groves was discharged from bankruptcy, the...

Tougher smoking laws passed in Queensland
ABC news - Gail Burke - 24 February 2016

Queensland has passed some of the toughest smoking laws in the country. From September 1, lighting up will be outlawed at or near childcare facilities, bus stops and taxi ranks, public pools, children's sporting venues, skate parks and outdoor malls. The new laws also ban the sale of tobacco products...

G8's M8
Sydney Morning Herald - Colin Kruger - February 23, 2016

G8 founder and managing director Chris Scott announced that its chief financial officer, Chris Sacre, will be leaving the group - sort of. "Chris is moving from one part of G8 (as employee) to another part of G8 (as a supplier of services and an independent contractor)," said Scott in the official...

G8 disappoints despite solid profit rise
SBS News - February 22, 2016

Shares in G8 Education have tumbled despite the childcare operator reporting a 68 per cent leap in full year profit. The group, whose childcare chains including First Grammar, Headstart, and Early Learning Services, lifted net profit by 68 per cent to $88.6 million in 2015 while revenues rose 44 per cent...

Two ways to win with Think Childcare Ltd
The Motley Fool - Mike King - February 22, 2016

Another company that could be on the takeover list is Think Childcare Ltd (ASX: TNK), which has 32 childcare centres (and manages a further 12), and a market cap of $42 million. Think could be in the sights of G8 or other large childcare operators for a number of reason. The problem with the childcare industry is...