Child Care News

Australian workplace flexibility lagging as productivity measures and push for work-life balance raise questions
ABC News - Peta Yoshinaga - May 19, 2015

A recent Ernst and Young report found women working part-time were the most productive in the workforce and recommended affordable child care as a way of enabling their careers. "Women who are working part-time, particularly returning to work after having family, often just are...

Tony Abbott defends focus on working women
The Australian - Stefanie Balogh - May 19, 2015

Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey have defended the government’s level of support for stay-at-home mums, batting away concerns from some rural backbenchers that the budget was too focused on working women. On a day where two opinion polls recorded a budget bounce for the Coalition...

Confessions of a dastardly double-dipper
The Age - Rachel Ball - May 19, 2015

Paid parental leave, better childcare, policies that promote equal caring responsibilities between men and women, robust responses to workplace discrimination and a well-resourced domestic violence strategy are all required to realise women's human rights and promote equality...

Coalition backbenchers concerned balance shifts too far to dual income families
The Conversation - Michelle Grattan - May 18, 2015

With the budget squarely targeted at getting more mothers into work or working extra hours, a group of Coalition backbenchers is forming to fight for the interests of stay-at-home parents. Its organisers are Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan and ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja...

Looking to Swedish model of childcare and education
Sydney Morning Herald - Colleen Ricci - May 18, 2015

In Sweden, childcare and education combine in an integrated system known as Educare. Often cited internationally as the gold standard in early learning, Educare is a nationwide network of subsidised preschools that provide childcare and education for the children of all working parents from the...

Fairfax Ipsos poll: welfare cuts to fund childcare not supported
Financial Review - Phillip Coorey - May 18, 2015

Plans to slash welfare payments to families in order to fund a $4.4 billion boost to childcare stand out as one of the few unpopular measures from Tuesday's federal budget with almost half of voters opposed to the trade-off. By contrast, the other major budget measure, a $5.5 billion tax cut...

GPT leading the way in parental leave and childcare policy
The Australian - Kylar Loussikian - May 18, 2015

The conservative world of Australian commercial real estate has begun to redouble its efforts to foster workplace diversity. Two days after the federal government announced a significantly revamped childcare scheme, GPT Group, one of the country’s largest diversified property landlords, unveiled...

Children of working mothers do better, says Harvard Business School study
Brisbane Times - Rachel Browne - May 17, 2015

Daughters of working mothers are better educated and earn more money, according to the results of a study into gender and employment survey across 25 developed countries. The research, which included Australian figures, revealed that the sons of working mothers spend more time on child...

Every mother in Australia should be in paid employment
Daily Telegraph - Claire Harvey - May 17, 2015

In all the fuss about childcare this week, I think everyone’s missed one crucial point. Childcare isn’t about early education. It’s not about having somewhere to send the kids while mum and dad keep slogging to pay the mortgage. It’s an investment by women in their own futures. It’s how...

Paid parental leave double-dipping isn’t fair dinkum
The Australian - Judith Sloan - May 16, 2015

Whether you call it double-dipping or, more accurately, accessing employer-provided paid parental leave in addition to the government PPL scheme, there is effectively one set of arrangements for one group of mothers and another — much more generous — for another group of mothers. And that...

Senate likely to pass small business tax cuts but childcare deal faces opposition
The Guardian - Daniel Hurst - May 14, 2015

The government is also expected to face Senate difficulties if it pushes ahead with a plan to reduce or end taxpayer-funded parental leave entitlements for people who receive parental leave from their employers. The parental leave issue has triggered a political storm this week. The finance minister...

Family business at the front line
The Australian - Alan Kohler- May 14, 2015

And secondly, will all the state regulations that are currently raising the costs of childcare be delayed or taken into account in the federal government’s price benchmark that applies from 2017? State governments constantly fiddle with the child-to-staff ratios that they control, in response to pressure...

Ministers under fire over 'double dipping' parental leave row
Financial Review - Joanna Mather - May 15, 2015

The government was being heavily criticised for its decision to end access to the taxpayer-funded paid parental leave scheme, worth $11,500, if a new parent was eligible for a more generous employer-sponsored plan. The measure, announced days before the budget, was forecast by the government...

Bad for business, women & families: There are no winners here
Women's Agenda - Lisa Annese - May 14, 2015

So what will employers do in the wake of the Government’s changes? At this stage, it’s hard to know, although I do know that employers are increasingly committed to providing paid parental leave; they see it as a vital tool to attract and retain talent. Any reduction in the amount of support for women...

Childcare industry set to surge 34.2% over five years as Australia’s birth rate rises
Smart Company - Andrew Sadauskas - May 14, 2015

The figures are good news for small businesses in the childcare services sector, which is set to see revenues grow by a massive 34.8%, from $9 billion per year in 2014-15 to $12 billion in 2019-20. The figures include long day care, before and after-school care, and family day care, with children aged...