Child Care News
Vaccine objector numbers fall to three-year lows as payment cuts loom
The Border Mail - Matthew Raggatt - December 26, 2015The rate of recorded conscientious objectors has fallen to three-year lows as vaccine law changes which will strip hundreds of Canberra parents of federal payments worth thousands of dollars take effect from January 1. The extension to the federal government's "no jab, no play" policy has been...
Childcare centres closed over Christmas holidays, but parents still have to pay
The Daily Telegraph - Carleen Frost - December 24, 2015Many childcare centres close on public holidays, including Christmas and Boxing Day, but still charge parents the full rate. But some centres have gone even further and will continue to charge parents during extended festive shutdowns, leaving parents angry they are having to pay while trying...
Man jailed for abusing children at family day care centre run by his wife
The Age - Mark Russell - December 23, 2015A father of three who abused four young children at a family day care centre run by his wife has been jailed for six years and three months. One of the victims, a girl now aged nine, told her mother she no longer wanted to live and felt angry, sad and scared. Her mother described how just going to school...
Education: Contracts cancelled, rules tightened in crackdown on substandard training colleges
The Age - Timna Jacks - December 22, 2015A damning review of the vocational sector in July revealed widespread fraud, substandard training, and rorting of the Victorian Training Guarantee, which is a government training subsidy servicing nearly 500 providers. The review sparked a $9 million quality blitz of the sector which receives $1.2 billion...
Paypal founder Peter Thiel eyes investment in Melbourne start-up
Financial Review - Michael Bailey - December 22, 2015He says the app can save a childcare centre the salaries of up to two administrators, by automating payments and record keeping through integrations with multiple payments platforms (including Paypal) and accounting systems (including Xero, in which Thiel became an investor in 2010)...
Anti-vaxers taking posters and pamphlets promoting vaccination in hospitals and clinics
Herald Sun - Grant McArthur and Jane Hansen - December 20, 2015ANTI-vaccination vandals are ripping down posters that promote the benefits of lifesaving injections at hospitals and health centres. They claim they are trying to protect children by removing vital information, even stealing pamphlets from childcare centres in attempts to prevent parents knowing...
Classic Aussie Christmas song Six White Boomers banned by childcare centres
The Courier Mail - Jackie Sinnerton - December 19, 2015CHILDCARE centres have banned the singing or playing of classic Aussie Christmas song Six White Boomers. A popular children's festive song for more than five decades, the Santa story with an Australian twist was co-written by fallen star Rolf Harris. He was jailed in July last year for five...
More dads juggle work to mind kids
The West Australian - Kate Emery - December 18, 2015A benchmark State Government report to be released today shows almost half of all WA fathers now use flexible work arrangements to care for children. Though mothers are still more likely to use flexible work for child care, the proportion doing so is falling as the proportion of men increases...
Six charged in Melbourne with fraudulent childcare claims worth $16 million
The Australian - Rosie Lewis - December 17, 2015Six people have been charged in Melbourne''s western suburbs for allegedly submitting fraudulent claims for taxpayer-funded family day care payments worth nearly $16 million. Australian Federal Police have also seized assets worth $1.1m that are believed to be proceeds of the alleged crime...
Government caps places under subsided nanny trial due to lower than expected demand
ABC News - Julie Doyle - December 16, 2015The Federal Government's trial of subsidised nannies has attracted less interest than anticipated, leading to a reduction in the number of places offered. The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) confirms the Government has capped the pilot program at 3,000 places to reflect lower...
Illawarra childcare centre creating breed of baby scientists
ABC News - Justin Huntsdale - December 16, 2015An Illawarra early childhood education centre has become the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere to provide a special science program to students. Its a training model that has swept across much of Germany and parts of Europe, and this week, Wollongong-based Big Fat Smile Kenny Street...
Treasurer Scott Morrison's first budget review test
News.com.au - Kara Vickery - December 15, 2015Treasurer Scott Morrison has announced new savings in the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook including a crackdown on welfare payments, health cuts and tougher means testing for childcare. Smaller than predicted revenues contributed to a forecast budget deficit of $37.4 billion, with a...
Childcare subsidies: Christian Porter's balancing act
The Australian - Judith Ireland - December 15, 2015Childcare is a classic example of provider capture. While the policy of subsidising and regulating formal childcare is ostensibly about assisting working parents and children from disadvantaged backgrounds, in practice childcare has become a bloated, inflexible boondoggle providing superior capital...
Anti-obesity message aimed at preschoolers and toddlers
The Daily Telegraph - Carleen Frost - December 12, 2015PRESCHOOLERS, toddlers and even babies are being targeted by health experts in a bid to prevent any further blowout in the state's child obesity crisis. The highly successful Munch & Move program has been rolled out across more than 90 per cent of early childhood education and care services...
Workforce productivity summit: Mothers forced to 'dumb down' to keep jobs
Financial Review - Lucille Keen - December 9, 2015She said it was now a matter of focussing on smaller organisations and encouraging them to be more flexible and supportive when women return to work. ASX chief executive Elmer Funke Kupper said handling parents' return to work was "absolutely fundamental". At the ASX everyone who goes on...
