Child Care News
Nannies to be funded with $250m pilot program in childcare budget
The Guardian - Daniel Hurst - April 28, 2015Nannies will not be required to have formal qualifications and will be available for families on incomes of up to $250,000 a year. The Abbott government has earmarked nearly $250m for a two-year pilot program to provide funding for nannies for families on incomes of up to $250,000...
Budget 2015: 'Earn or learn' expected to apply to childcare subsidies with proposed activity testing
ABC News - Tom Iggulden - April 28, 2015The Government's "earn or learn" ethos is expected to be extended to childcare subsidies in the upcoming budget, forcing parents on welfare to show they are working or studying before they get benefits. Daycare providers say a proposed "activity test" could cost 100,000 lower...
Special report: The rise in retirees caring for their grandchildren
Yahoo 7 News - April 27, 2015FIRST ON 7: The spiralling cost of childcare is forcing more Queensland grandparents out of retirement to take care of their grandchildren. Now a new program is being trialled to help senior carers cope with the challenges. Judith McLean quit her job and moved to the Gold Coast from...
New study rejects link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorder
Herald Sun - Carleen Frost - April 27, 2015NEW research has ruled out any connection between vaccines and the development of autism spectrum disorder, delivering a further blow to anti-vaccination activists who have peddled this myth for almost two decades. A study of nearly 100,000 children in the US found no link...
Education and child care costs soar above general CPI increase
The Sydney Morning Herald - Deborah Snow - April 26, 2015Parents worried that childcare and education costs are hitting their wallets far harder than most other areas of household spending have had their suspicions confirmed. The latest consumer price index figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal that CPI increases for...
Many mums say they can’t afford to work full-time due to childcare costs
Herald Sun - Sue O'Brien - April 26, 2015ONE in three low-income families say childcare costs mean it's not worth their while to work, a new national report has found. Families earning less than $50,000 are hardest hit by rising childcare costs, the NAB Work and Families survey shows. In comparison, only one in five of those...
Using new technology to keep an eye on the kids
Sunday Telegraph - Lisa Mayoh - April 26, 2015FROM bedroom baby monitors to daycare apps that send twice-daily pictures, school radio stations, YouTube channels and principals on Twitter and Facebook, busy parents may be stuck at work, but they are more connected to their children than ever before. While psychologists claim the trend...
Totus Capital expects G8 Education share price to fall
Financial Review - Sally Rose - April 26, 2015Taking short positions on education provider Vocation Group and iron ore miner Atlas Iron have proven profitable trades over the past year. Now one of the fund's biggest shorts is on childcare operator G8 Education. Short selling is when an investor borrows money to sell a stock they...
NSW childcare minister faces preschool stoush
The Age - Kirsty Needham - April 25, 2015Much of what Leslie Williams will do in her new role as NSW early childhood education minister hangs on the Abbott government's upcoming families package. The reliance of the childcare sector on Commonwealth rebates to parents is so great that the shakeup looming in the federal budget...
Taxpayer pays the cost of ever-expanding childcare
The Australian - Judith Sloan - April 24, 2015One thing for sure is that the federal government will simply be contributing to the ongoing mess of government-subsidised and regulated childcare, which costs taxpayers more and more each year - exceeding $7 billion this financial year - while manifestly failing to achieve its principal aim of...
Childcare sector braces for Government rebate shake-up
ABC News - Pat McGrath - April 24, 2015Australian childcare operators currently benefitting from $7 billion in subsidies each year expect the Government's promised shakeup of the rebate system to be announced early next week. The Social Affairs Minister Scott Morrison has signalled the biggest change will be the introduction of a means...
Preschools could face $1800 cut per child under budget plans
News.com.au - Lanai Scarr - April 23, 2015PRESCHOOLS will shorten their hours and increase fees under government moves to strip up to $1800 in funding per child, per year from a key program. Pressure is mounting on the Coalition to announce its plans for the Universal Access to Early Childhood Education scheme, with funding only secured...
More women equals more profits, so why are we still lacking diversity on boards?
The Age - Nassim Khadem - April 23, 2015One option to help with the pipeline is tax-deductible childcare. If women have nannies that can look after their kids, or accredited places to leave their children while at work, then they are more likely to return to work and stay there. Leading businesswomen including non-executive director of Toll...
Mums returning to work told to exclude maternity leave from CVs
Herald Sun - Peter Reynolds - April 23, 2015"It is very challenging for mothers to get back into work at the moment. There are a number of barriers in the way, such as lack of accessible child care and lack of flexible work opportunities." The agency, which specialises in connecting working mums, posted the concerns on its Facebook page...
New staff rules hike childcare cost
The Australian - Natasha Bita - April 23, 2015Childcare costs soared seven times faster than inflation in the past year, as new staffing rules fuelled wage costs. The cost of childcare rose 8.5 per cent nationally in the 12 months to March, an analysis of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics inflation data shows. The extraordinary price...
