Child Care News
VET info withheld by federal government, Victoria claims
The Australian - John Ross - August 26, 2015Victorian Skills Minister Steve Herbert said the federal government's delay in releasing a "scathing" report on childcare training could have seen as much as $70 million of the state government's training funds channelled to unworthy providers. "The audit of 77 childcare training providers was...
Folkestone Education Trust keen on Arena merger
The Australian - Samantha Hutchinson - August 26, 2015Childcare centre owner Folkestone Education Trust is believed to be once again stalking rival childcare Arena REIT, after releasing full-year results revealing it had snatched a 4.5 per cent stake in the smaller competitor. FET yesterday revealed a 64.7 per cent lift in statutory profit to $88.6...
Asset valuations boost child care A-reit profits
Sydney Morning Herald - Nicole Lindsa - August 26, 2015Asset re-valuations have boosted strong profit growth at childcare centre owners Folkestone Education Trust and Arena REIT. FET reported a 64 per cent increase in profit to $88.6 million following its merger with the Folkestone Social Infrastructure Fund at the start of the year...
Aussie families set to be hit by Abbott Government's cuts to multiple childcare benefit
Herald Sun - Lanai Scarr - August 25, 2015CLOSE to 400,000 families will be hit with a cut to the multiple childcare benefit as the government tries to quietly axe the payment. News Corp Australia can reveal the Department of Social Services has confirmed in private briefings that the payment currently received by families with two...
Childcare workers may soon have to report abuse
Sunshine Coast Daily - Geoff Egan - August 25, 2015REQUIRING childcare workers to report suspected child abuse could lead to reports being made out of fear rather than based on evidence, a legal expert has warned. A Queensland Law Reform Commission discussion paper has proposed early childhood educators and carers be legally...
Anchorage lobs bid for Affinity
The Australian - Michael Roddan - August 24, 2015Affinity Education has entered into exclusive talks with Anchorage Capital Partners, which is planning to buy Australia's second-largest childcare group for $208 million, trumping the sweetened takeover bid of Affinity's larger rival G8 Education. Affinity Education told shareholders today to...
Affinity Education rejects sweetened G8 offer
The Australian - Kylar Loussikian - August 24, 2015Childcare provider Affinity Education has rejected a takeover offer from its larger peer G8 Education, despite the Jenny Hutson-chaired company sweetening its bid earlier this month. In a widely anticipated move, Affinity chairman Stuart James recommended shareholders reject the...
'Policy paralysis': Tony Abbott's government the slowest for nearly five decades
Sydney Morning Herald - Judith Ireland & Fergus Hunter - August 24, 2015There is also uncertainty over the status of the Coalition's childcare reforms. The Coalition had planned to mount a comeback campaign in 2015 by focusing on families, but the reforms have slipped from top of the government's agenda. Those in the childcare sector expected the reforms...
Let them play: Sitting the 'new smoking' with links to a lifetime of health issues
Sunday Telegraph - Zoe Taylor - August 23, 2015PRESCHOOLERS could be setting themselves up for a lifetime of health problems because they are spending too much time sitting down. Sitting has been described as the "new smoking" among adults, with sedentary lifestyles linked to increased risks of chronic conditions including heart...
Childcare centres shocked at second-rate training of staffworkers
The Australian - Natasha Bita - August 22, 2015Some private colleges have been churning out graduates after just a week's online training. Australia's training ministers have decreed that a Certificate III course - the minimum for a childcare qualification - should take one or two years of full-time study to complete. Yet 70 per...
A new report has found that a massive 70 per cent of childcare courses take less than a year to complete
News.com.au - Lanai Scarr - August 19, 2015PARENTS could be forced to pay even more for childcare after a damning report has found the majority of staff in centres are being inadequately trained. News Corp Australia can reveal the Australian Skills Quality Authority review into childcare standards has found training providers are...
Affinity Education boosts underlying earnings
The Australian - Kylar Loussikian - August 19, 2015Takeover target Affinity Education has recorded a 76 per cent jump in underlying earnings to $8.6 million for the first six months of the year, upgrading full-year earnings expectations from $27m to as much as $32m. The childcare provider is the subject of a hostile takeover bid by its larger...
ASIC forces G8 to amend bid statement
Courier Mail - Michael Roddan - August 18, 2015Australia's largest child care operator G8 Education has been forced by the competition watchdog to amend its bidder's statement for its proposed takeover of its largest rival Affinity Education. G8 Education, which said its recently upgraded bid for Affinity was final, said it was now preparing...
Mini baby boom driving industries' growth
News.com.au - August 18, 2015A MINI baby boom is driving growth in industries ranging from health insurance, fertility clinics and child care to nappies and baby food. Australia's Mini Baby Boom - Birthrate to rise 6.4 pct in five years to 2019/20, to almost 333,000 births annually; Rose 2.9 per cent over last five years...
Children of shift workers suffer academically and socially: UNSW researcher
Sydney Morning Herald - Rachel Brown - August 17, 2015Decades of research suggests that shift work is bad for the worker's physical and mental health but a new study suggests it has a negative effect on their children as well. Children of shift workers have poorer academic results, worse behaviour and take more risks as teenagers, according to..
