Child Care News
Childcare costs in Sydney: New figures reveal which suburbs fare best
Daily Telegraph - Adam Bell - July 2, 2014THE cost of childcare in Sydney has sky-rocketed in the past decade with some centres charging as much as $160 per day for each child. The spiralling costs of care are placing increasing pressure on families who are struggling to cope with the rising costs of living. Childcare fees are now so high...
Folkestone buys five sites for new childcare centres
Financial Review - Larry Schlesinger - July 1, 2014The five sites in Balmain and Turramurra in Sydney and Armadale, Highett and Cheltenham in Melbourne will be leased to childcare operator Only About Children. They will generate an initial return of 7.72 per cent on transaction costs of about $15.6 million. Construction will occur...
Bill Shorten 'misrepresents' childcare costs modelling
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - July 1, 2014BILL Shorten has been accused of "misrepresenting" modelling provided by Early Childhood Australia on the freeze of the indexation of childcare payments. The Opposition Leader said yesterday that according to ECA modelling families on $42,000 a year would lose over the next...
Canterbury-Bankstown childcare fees among the lowest in Sydney
NEWS.com.au - July 1, 2014The figures were compiled by the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling, whose report on childcare affordability reveals skyrocketing costs over the past decade. It found the average cost of childcare in Australia has risen by 150 per cent, from about $30 a day in 2003 to $75 last...
Vermont babysitters' club ready to open ranks to next generation
NEWS.com.au - June 30, 2014ASK any time-poor, overworked and frazzled parent on a tight budget about what makes it hard to get adult-only time out from the kids, and often the answer is a lack of available and affordable babysitters. About 30 years ago a resourceful group of kinder mums from the Legend Park...
Federal government accuses Labor of "tricking families" with its childcare letter campaign
NEWS.com.au - June 30, 2014THE federal government has hit back at a Labor campaign against changes to childcare subsidies, accusing the Opposition of trying to "trick families" into blaming Tony Abbott for rising childcare prices. Opposition leader Bill Shorten and Labor’s childcare spokeswoman Kate Ellis today…
Labor misinterpreted our child care modelling: Early Childhood Australia
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - June 30, 2014BILL Shorten's Labor has been accused of misrepresenting modelling provided by peak advocacy group Early Childhood Australia on the freeze to indexation of childcare payments. Labor cited figures from the group to accuse the Abbott government of attacking support for child care...
Federal government budget cuts spur childcare crisis nationwide
NEWS.com.au - June 30, 2014CHILDCARE providers are warning they will close their doors unless a federal government funding cut from the Budget is reinstated. Family Day Care Australia said the Community Support Program was vital for many family daycare centres - ensuring educators were properly recruited, trained...
Whitehorse Family Day Care loses $140,000 a year with parents facing a heftier bill
Herald Sun - Sally Heppleston - June 29, 2014FAMILIES could lose affordable and accessible childcare next year, with Whitehorse Council's high-demand Family Day Care program under threat. Municipal Association of Victoria president Bill McArthur said a new eligibility criteria for the Federal Community Support Program (CSP), which..
Parents in froth over real milk ban at NSW childcare centres
Sunday Telegraph - Jane Hansen - June 29, 2014IT'S a storm in a sippy cup. New guidelines suggest toddlers should only get low-fat milk in daycare centres to help tackle obesity. The National Health and Medical Research Council has recommended children over the age of two be served light milk with 2 per cent fat, rather than full-fat milk...
Parents under the pump are paying for holiday childcare programs, new study shows
NEWS.com.au - June 26, 2014TIME-POOR parents are spending up to $140 a day on school holiday programs, a new study shows. According to a survey of 8000 six to 11-year-olds, nearly one-third raised by single mums are sent to formal holiday care, compared with 16 per cent of others. The survey, done by the...
Tony Abbott won't hear a word from his wife all day as childcare director Margie goes mute
Daily Telegraph - Danielle Nicastri - June 26, 2014Prime Minister Tony Abbott will not be able to talk politics with his wife or even ask how her day was when she takes a vow of silence. For 24 hours, Margie Abbott will only be able to gesture to her husband as the St Ives childcare centre director gives up her ability to speak. Mrs Abbott...
Average 6.9% yields as Arena REIT childcare centres sell
Property Observer - Jonathan Chancellor - June 26, 2014The recently floated Arena REIT sold 10 Victorian and NSW childcare centres at Burgess Rawson auction today for a combined $14.2 million reflecting an average 6.9% net yield. Given 16% projected growth in number of children 0-4 years from 2013-2025, yields were as low as 5.4%...
Childcare costs are the biggest obstacle for WA parents, accordings to WA Speaks survey
PerthNow - Katie Robertson - June 26, 2014THE cost of childcare is the biggest obstacle for West Australian parents, according to The Sunday Times' WA Speaks survey. Nearly a third of respondents with children said fees at centres were too high. The survey, conducted by Galaxy Research, revealed that the availability of places at...
Demand driving childcare industry boom
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - June 25, 2014CHILDCARE is booming with over 800 new services opening in the past six months. Since November, 840 services have opened bringing the total across the country to 14,425, according to the Australian Children's Education and Care Authority National Register. Early Childhood...
