Child Care News
Govt not cutting childcare benefit: Ley
Nine News - June 18, 2014The federal government has rejected claims a freeze in childcare payments will hit low income earners. Labor says half a million families could be affected by the plan to freeze the income threshold for the childcare benefit, and warns it won't back other changes to childcare payments...
Paid parental leave and childcare belong together
The Age - Marie Coleman - June 18, 2014What a time for the Minister for Social Services Kevin Andrews to finally release the report reviewing the operation of the existing Rudd-Macklin Paid Parental Leave (PPL) Scheme. Amid strong opposition to the Abbott government's proposed parental leave extensions and the...
'Gold-plated' maternity leave in bosses' sights
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - June 17, 2014THE Australian Industry Group has called for Tony Abbott to abandon his paid parental leave scheme and redirect the money to maintaining childcare benefits. The manufacturing employers' body says contrary to the government's claims, the PPL was unlikely to improve productivity. In a...
Childcare rebate changes set to pass
Sky News - June 17, 2014Labor will support changes to the childcare rebate, but only if they are split from childcare benefit legislation now before parliament. The Abbott government wants to freeze childcare benefit income thresholds and continue to pause the childcare rebate limit at $7500 a child a year. Both...
Availability the biggest bugbear in childcare
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - June 16, 2014AT least half of households that need childcare say there is an availability crisis, with the issue of cost coming second in parents' concerns. The total prevalence of childcare use does not appear to have changed significantly over the decade to 2011, but its composition has shifted towards...
Nearly one in 10 kids under 10 left home alone
Financial Review - Fleur Anderson - June 16, 2014Almost 9 per cent of children under 10 are "latch-key kids", looking after themselves while their parents work. A comprehensive survey of work and family arrangements has found many parents are forced to leave their children alone while they work. The survey found 8.7 per cent of...
Push on standards for remote childcare
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - June 12, 2014MORE than 300 childcare centres in regional and remote areas across Australia will be forced to comply with the standards set by the National Quality Framework in a bid to avoid a two-tiered system. Assistant Minister for Education Sussan Ley will today release the first review of the…
Survey to test how working parents juggle jobs and childcare
Financial Review - Christopher Jay - June 12, 2014The cost and availability of flexible day- care for children of working mothers is emerging as a key social issue for the federal government. The increased community focus on shortcomings in childcare services for working parents appears, in part, to be a reaction to the Prime Minister's...
Australia 'learning from Kiwi in-home childcare model'
Voxy.co.nz - June 10, 2014New Zealand's leading in-home childcare provider, PORSE, is attracting huge interest from across the Tasman as Australia undertakes major reforms in childcare and early childhood learning. Australian in-home sector delegates just visited PORSE to learn more about how they can grow...
The guilt trip
Sydney Morning Herald - June 8, 2014Marisa Black was deeply conflicted about childcare – until a backward glance put her mind at ease. A week before my son was due to start childcare, I found myself arguing about it with a friend. Her daughter had started at care a couple of days a week, and she was reassuring me that her child...
Apartment dwellers fuel demand for infrastructure
Sydney Morning Herald - Carolyn Cummins - June 6, 2014The City of Sydney is investing $55 million into new childcare centres in Sydney, with six new centres offering 360 extra places expected to be available by 2016. About $33 million will be spent on creating the six new centres in areas of the city where demand is greatest. A further $22m...
$400m needed for early learning
The Australian - Natasha Bita - June 6, 2014PARENTS will pay more for kindergarten next year unless the federal government coughs up $400 million more in funding, state governments warned yesterday. Queensland Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek warned that some kids would miss out on kindy, and preschool teachers might...
Childcare centres granted grace on new staff ratios
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - June 5, 2014A NEW three-month grace period will be given to childcare centres unable to meet the previous government's "excessive" hiring rules because of a shortage of qualified workers. Assistant Minister for Education Sussan Ley will announce today that the probationary period will allow all new staff...
Out-of-pocket childcare costs rose 39 per cent under Labor government
NEWS.com.au - June 4, 2014THE out-of-pocket cost of childcare rose by as much as 39 per cent under Labor despite the former government substantially boosting subsidies to working parents. New data from the federal government's Child Care and Early Learning in Summary report, reveals Australian parents are...
Major changes for education in ACT budget
The Canberra Times - Emma Macdonald - June 3, 2014The Early Childhood Scholarship Program for Certificate III in Children's Services will receive a $500,000 extension to assist the industry meet national standards while $545,000 will go to help the ACT implement the National Quality Framework in early education and childcare. Belconnen High...
