Child Care News
Kids pay price as council goes campaigning
The Australian - Ben Westacott and Patricia Karvelas - June 13, 2013A GROUP of parents in Melbourne's east are running a campaign against their local council after it abruptly ended its family daycare service but still found money to fund a campaign to change the Constitution. The City of Boroondara voted last month to cease operating the daycare service...
Hunt for REIT yield gives impetus to Arena's listing
Financial Review - Nick Lenaghan - June 13, 2013The $228 million childcare property trust Arena REIT makes its debut on the boards on Thursday, after raising $75 million in new equity to bolster an existing unlisted fund. The float comes amid a broader investor quest for the dividend yield among real estate shares as the cash rate slips...
Backlash hits wage deal for childcare
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - June 12, 2013THE Gillard government is facing a backlash to its requirement that childcare centres start enterprise agreements in order to be able to apply for funds for wage rises, with warnings that parents will face fee increases because of the pay deal. Early Childhood Australia, which has...
Search for at-risk children starts in kindergarten
Sydney Morning Herald - Jewel Topsfield and Josephine Tovey - June 12, 2013Hundreds of thousands of children will be assessed when they start kindergarten to find out if they are at risk of falling behind and need extra help under the federal government's education reforms. The school readiness assessments will vary from school to school but are likely to test motor...
Banking on baby
Business Spectator - Brett Cole - June 11, 2013G8's Chris Scott is an acquirer not a builder. The managing director of Australia's biggest publicly traded childcare company is looking at Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane childcare businesses as potential takeover targets. Today Brisbane-based G8 announced it plans to buy 17...
Crackdown on family daycare operators rorting childcare rebate
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - June 11, 2013A CRACKDOWN on family daycare operators rorting the childcare rebate has recovered $350,000 through repayments from nine services in Victoria so far. After a major investigation by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, it appears the breaches are...
Parents warned to expect jump in childcare fees
The Age - John Elder - June 9, 2013Parents of children in childcare are facing a blowout in fees because a paucity of qualified workers is expected to drive up labour costs. The national peak body for childcare providers, the Australian Childcare Alliance, is pressing the federal government to delay new regulations, scheduled to be...
Arena completes $75m capital raising ahead of IPO
Financial Review - Nick Leneghan and Jake Mitchell - June 8, 2013Morgan Stanley-controlled Arena Investment Management has successfully completed a $75 million capital raising ahead of the listing of its $228 million childcare property fund next week. Bill Halmarick, National Australia Bank's head of property equity, who worked on the raising with…
After-hours childcare to be trialled
SBS News - Cassandra Hill - June 6, 2013In tough economic times, with irregular working hours, finding affordable childcare is a constant dilemma for working parents. Shift workers find it particularly difficult. In tough economic times, with irregular working hours, finding affordable childcare is a constant dilemma for working...
What it costs you to hold down your job
NEWS.com.au - Sarah Michael - June 6, 2013Child care costs hit hard. The most recent government statistics on the cost of childcare show that out-of-pocket costs for families with one child in long day care ranges between 8.2 per cent and 9.4 per cent of gross family income, depending on the income bracket. Parents of young children...
SA Budget 2013: What's in it for you?
ABC Radio Adelaide - Brett Williamson - June 6, 2013South Australia's Education budget will reach $3.2 billion. $32.7 million will be spent over five years to upgrade and relocate 15 preschools, $109 million to upgrade or expand public schools and $31.1 million to renew and relocate special schools. $15.9 million will be allocated to relocate Lockleys...
Charts: Australia's Tax System Could Be Discouraging Women From Returning To Work After Childbirth
Business Insider - Liz Tay - June 6, 2013Family tax arrangements and high costs of childcare in Australia could be discouraging women from returning to work after childbirth, industry group CEDA has warned. CEDA today released a 145-page report stating that women were being discriminated against in Australian workplaces...
Looming childcare closures to hit Ellis on home front
The Australian - Sarah Martin - June 05, 2013AT least 14 childcare centres are set to close in South Australia because of federally imposed reforms, a peak industry body says. This will increase pressure on Childcare Minister Kate Ellis, who holds the seat of Adelaide with a margin of 7.5 per cent, ahead of September's federal...
Non-government schools win big but PS staff feel the pinch
Canberra Times - Emma Macdonald - June 5, 2013Childcare centres and childcare workers received added support through a $2 million upgrade of government childcare centres and $240,000 for childcare workers to complete their qualifications under new Commonwealth requirements. Non-government preschools will receive $5 million over...
Julia Gillard unveils new Closing the Gap target
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - June 4, 2013A NEW Closing the Gap target has been unveiled by Julia Gillard to ensure indigenous children attend preschool or kindergarten. In a statement the Prime Minister said the new target would drive efforts to ensure 90 per cent of enrolled indigenous children across Australia attend a quality...
