Child Care News

Childcare centre proposed
Bayside News - Brodie Cowburn - August 16, 2021

An application has been submitted to build a new childcare centre on Overport Road. The proposal before Frankston Council is to develop land on 137 Overport Road for use as a childcare centre. The land is in a general residential zone. This is the second time a childcare centre ...

Family Assistance Legislation Amendment Bill passes enshrining CCS change
The Sector - Freya Lucas - August 16, 2021

The Federal Government passed legislation late last week that will affect the affordability of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services for around 250,000 families.The Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Subsidy) Bill 2021 will increase the Child Care Subsidy ...

Child care gap fee waivers available for more Australian families
Mirage News - August 16, 2021

The Morrison Government is enacting a blanket rule that will allow child care centres to waive gap fees in any area declared a COVID-19 hotspot by the Commonwealth for more than seven days. It means services will have the option to waive gap fees for more Australian families impacted ...

Childcare centres offer families discount during ACT lockdown
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown - August 16, 2021

The sound of children playing will be heard, lockdown or not, at early childhood education and care centres around the ACT. Centre-based childcare will continue to operate for children whose parents must keep going out to work during the lockdown. However, the majority of parents ...

Childcare gap fees to be waived for parents in Melbourne
Herald Sun - Susie O'Brien - August 15, 2021

Childcare gap fees will be waived for all parents in greater Melbourne, the ACT and parts of NSW, the Federal Education Minister has announced. The move, which will kick in for any area declared a Commonwealth hot spot for more than seven days, offers parents respite from ...

Women struggling to maintain careers due to lack of childcare reform
Herald Sun - Susie O'Brien - August 15, 2021

The nuclear family is enduring, with twice as many women as men making career sacrifices to look after their families, new research shows. Some women are merely working to pay for childcare, taking home no money at all after out-of-pocket expenses are met ...

‘I’m worried every time I go there’: Families paying to keep kids at home from childcare
The Sydney Morning Herald - Caitlin Fitzsimmons - August 15, 2021

Sarah Du faces a predicament shared by many families across Sydney - whether to send her daughter to daycare despite the stay-at-home orders and the burgeoning COVID-19 outbreak or to keep her home and pay childcare fees for nothing. The federal government has allowed ...

Queensland tightens definition of what is an essential worker to exclude teachers, childcare workers...
The Daily Telegraph - Liana Walker and Alison Paterson - August 13, 2021

Cross border commissioner James McTavish said he was in negotiations with relevant state officials over essential worker definition changes. “Teachers and child care workers are not considered to be essential workers,” he said. “I have been speaking to the (NSW) Department of ...

Covid NSW: Warning for Sydney childcare centres
Yahoo News - Nick Whigham - August 12, 2021

There is growing concern about the impact of the Delta coronavirus strain on young children amid Sydney's worsening Covid outbreak. The state's Chief Health Officer, Dr Kerry Chant, has urged parents to keep their young children at home if possible. "We are seeing a number of ...

Expected baby boom sees funds for Longreach childcare expansion
North Queensland Register - August 12, 2021

The Longreach Regional Council will receive $150,000 from the federal government to help fund an expansion of the Longreach Childcare Centre that will double its capacity. The planned expansion of the centre will take place within the existing centre footprint ...

Proposed childcare centre in Fitzroy set for approval following court appeal
The Advertiser - Ben Cameron - August 12, 2021

A proposed two-storey childcare centre in Fitzroy dubbed “utterly preposterous” by the community could be approved the second time around following a court appeal. The City of Prospect Council’s assessment panel rejected an application from Leyton Property for a centre ...

Canberra schools close from Friday in Covid lockdown as teachers prepare for remote learning
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown - August 12, 2021

ACT parents have been urged to keep their children home from school and childcare from Friday after a coronavirus case sent the territory into a snap seven-day lockdown. Schools, before and after school care and childcare providers will remain open for children of essential workers ...

Coalition senators split over government’s childcare bill
The Guardian - Paul Karp - August 11, 2021

Matt Canavan and Gerard Rennick warn subsidies benefit “top few per cent” of earners and don’t do enough for stay-at-home parents. A Coalition split over support for stay-at-home parents has flared during debate on the government’s childcare bill, amid revelations drafting errors ...

‘COVID-19 immune’ portfolio sends childcare landlord soaring
The Financial Review - Larry Schlesinger - August 11, 2021

Childcare centre and healthcare property landlord Arena REIT delivered a 72 per cent total return to shareholders last financial year as investors pivoted to “essential services real estate” during the pandemic. The bumper return (the REIT delivered a negative 21 per cent return ...

Traralgon preschool shuts after Royal Children's Hospital doctor tests positive for COVID-19
ABC Gippsland - August 11, 2021

A Victorian kindergarten has closed for a precautionary deep clean after a student saw a Royal Children's Hospital doctor who later returned a positive COVID test. The Department of Health contacted the family on Tuesday, who then notified the Cumberland Park preschool in Traralgon ...