Child Care News
The high price of childcare in Australia is costing billions in lost productivity
ABC News (The Business) - Rebecca Nash - July 25, 2013It is an issue that affects families around Australia, and the cost and availability of child care is also having a deep impact on the Australian economy as a whole. There are estimates that the lack of affordable child care is draining billions of dollars from the GDP and there are renewed calls...
Childcare, phony feminism and rethinking masculinity
ABC News (The Drum) - Katie Attwell - July 25, 2013Improved and more affordable childcare will undoubtedly play a part in enabling women who want to work to do so. But so will rethinking masculinity, so that childcare and domestic duties become a recognised and significant part of being a dad, argues Katie Attwell. This is one of a series of...
Mothers call for overhaul of childcare system to address affordability, availability problems
ABC News - Rebecca Nash - July 25, 2013There are calls for a significant overhaul of Australia's childcare system as families continue to battle issues of affordability and availability. Childcare is increasingly seen as not only an issue for individual families, but also key to encouraging more women into the workforce and to the...
Government and Opposition debate child care
ABC News Breakfast - Virginia Trioli - July 25, 2013Federal Minister for Child Care Kate Ellis debates the availability and quality of child care with Opposition spokeswoman Sussan Ley...
Childcare faces pay pressure
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - July 25, 2013HUNDREDS of childcare centres across Australia will be targeted in a crackdown by the Fair Work Ombudsman after scores of complaints about underpayment of workers. Ombudsman Natalie James will reveal today she will target the childcare sector in a national campaign to ensure...
Effective child care policy is not child's play
ABC News (The Drum) - Yolanda Vega - July 25, 2013Women are one of Australia's biggest resources yet child care that is expensive and difficult to find locks many out of the workforce. Yolanda Vega says child care policy needs to change. Fast. This is one of a series of articles looking at Australia investing in its future in the lead-up to the 2013...
Maureen Reed's craft is all about care
Daily Telegraph - Lisa Power - July 25, 2013MEET Miss Maureen, master dodge ball player, craft queen and cooking superstar - the energetic 80-year-old may also be one of the oldest childcare workers in Australia. Grief-stricken after the death of her husband of 55 years, Maureen Reed decided to pursue a new career in childcare to...
Fair Work Ombudsman cracks down on childcare centres that short-change workers
NEWS.com.au - Natasha Bita - July 24, 2013CHILDCARE centres have been caught short-changing their workers - despite slugging parents with higher fees. The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) will reveal on Thursday that it has recouped $255,000 in back-pay for 123 childcare staff during the past year. And official data reveals...
Arena REIT's post-float buyback pays off
Financial Review - Nick Lenaghan - July 24, 2013The $215 million Arena REIT, a childcare property trust, made its debut a little more than a month ago, and the $75 million in new capital has been partly used to fund a buyback. It has proven a canny move by the trust's manager, which is controlled by global giant Morgan Stanley's real...
Childcare industry facing staff shortages as Government pushes ahead with ambitious targets
ABC News - Amy Bainbridge - July 22, 2013There are warnings the childcare industry is facing chronic staffing shortages as the Government pushes ahead with ambitious targets on training and child-to-carer ratios. By January next year, all childcare staff must have a Certificate III or Diploma, or be in the process of completing either...
Measures to improve out of school hours care
The Advertiser - Jordanna Schriever - July 22, 2013SCHOOLS will be able to outsource after-hours care to a list of pre-approved providers, a move the State Government says will help reduce the burden on governing councils. Education and Child Development Minister Jennifer Rankine today said schools would be able to run their own...
Mother of two calls for cheaper childcare costs or more help from government
Courier Mail - Peter Hall - July 22, 2013GOLD Coast mother of two, Lisa O'Kearney, is among those who would like to see a reduction in childcare costs, or at least some better solutions to help families. Mrs O'Kearney, 29, of Varsity Lakes, has a two-year-old daughter Ava and a son Will, 10 months. She said Ava spent two days...
G8 Education looking to raise $30m for future acquisitions
Financial Review - Jake Mitchell - July 22, 2013Listed childcare and education centre operator G8 Education Limited is looking to raise $30 million. But despite its strong share performance – G8 listed on the ASX in December 2007, has a market capitalisation of $727 million and its shares have rallied by 63 per cent over the past year...
Rudd Government's parental pay scheme 'unfair to high-income earners'
The Australian - Natasha Bita - July 21, 2013AUSTRALIA's best-paid women are demanding taxpayer-funded maternity leave, and tax write-offs for childcare fees. Women's professional groups have told the Federal Government its $1.4 billion parental pay scheme is unfair - because it locks out high-income earners who pay the most taxes...
Voice of Australia: How do your childcare costs add up?
NEWS.com.au - Jessica Marszalek and Jackson Gothe-Snape - July 21, 2013AUSTRALIAN parents fork out more for childcare than families in the United Kingdom or Norway but still don't come close to paying Swiss prices. The average price for a day of long daycare (or centre based care) among providers on the Government's MyChild website is around $80, or around...
