Child Care News
Rising childcare costs a jolt to action
Herald Sun - Phillip Hudson - August 3, 2012THE financial squeeze on working parents can be summed up by one key fact: childcare costs in Melbourne have soared by almost 10 times the rate of general inflation. And for the first time since federal Labor was elected five years ago, the price of childcare is rising at a faster pace than...
Work is too expensive for mums
Financial Review - Ayesha de Kretser - August 2, 2012Put simply, the onus is on women to justify their place in the workforce more than ever before despite all the lip service being paid to the idea of boosting Australia’s productivity by "helping" women back to work with the ineffective childcare rebate. The government "incentivises" me to...
'Pay crisis to doom childcare push'
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - August 01, 2012CHILDCARE Minister Kate Ellis is prepared to adopt bold ideas, including weekend and after-hours centres, but the peak union has warned she is doomed to fail unless the government fixes the workforce crisis. "We understand the difficulty for parents in finding childcare that meets their...
Working parents struggle to find carers for children
The West Australian - Rhianna King - August 01, 2012WA's childcare sector is at breaking point, with critical shortages forcing parents to cut back their work hours or resort to hiring nannies. The Federal Government's MyChild website, designed to help parents find childcare vacancies, claims 170 of the more than 400 centres in Perth have...
Childcare nightmare defeats single mother
The West Australian - Rhianna King - August 01, 2012For single mother Michelle Doust, childcare options in Perth are inflexible, expensive and have long waiting lists. So the 29-year-old nurse now relies on her father to travel from Mandurah to her home in Balcatta to care for her two boys while she works part-time, following a series of...
Childcare plan may not have the numbers
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - July 31, 2012THE peak childcare union has warned late-night and weekend childcare is doomed to fail unless the Government acts to fix the crisis in the sector's workforce. Sue Lines, United Voice Assistant National Secretary said the Government's priority in early childhood education and care must be...
Bid to trial late-night childcare
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - July 31, 2012THE nation's largest childcare group is working with the Gillard government to offer late-night and weekend childcare in a move to revolutionise the nation's childcare industry by providing around-the-clock care. The Australian understands the government is considering a proposal to allow a...
Reducing childcare wait list high on Waverley Council's agenda
Wentowrth Courier - Shae McDonald - July 30, 2012IT may take years, but childcare waiting lists could be slashed after Waverley Council voted to look at "carving up" its land to build more centres. Councillors unanimously committed to providing more places at last week's council meeting. It provides assistance to more than 400 children but the...
Parents blind to learning benefits
The Australian - Pia Akerman - July 30, 2012PARENTS who keep their children out of valuable early childhood education programs often do so because they see parental care as better. This suggests evidence showing the benefits of preschool for a child's development may not be getting through to families. The Australian Institute of...
Minister Kate Ellis reveals plan to allow childcare centres to open all hours
The Sunday Telegraph - Samantha Maiden - July 29, 2012CASH fines for parents who run late for childcare pick-ups could be eased under a plan to allow operators greater flexibility in opening hours - including at weekends. Childcare Minister Kate Ellis has revealed she wants to investigate removing restrictions on childcare centres being open…
Mix of care ruled best for children
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - July 28, 2012CHILDREN who are in medium levels of daycare show the best socio-emotional outcomes, according to a major study revealing any formal childcare is associated with higher outcomes for children. The Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research has released its findings...
Attempted abduction charges laid
The Mercury - Helen Kempton - July 26, 2012A MAN has been charged with attempted abduction after he allegedly tried to take two toddlers from a Devonport childcare centre yesterday. The 44-year-old man, from Boat Harbour, has been charged with two counts of attempted abduction and one count of common assault. Police...
OECD urges Aussies to learn lessons of Europe
The Australian - Pia Akerman - July 26, 2012AUSTRALIA is falling behind other developed countries' public spending on childcare and could increase female participation in the workforce by encouraging greater use of nannies and family daycare. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development senior economist Willem...
Childcare kids on par with those who stay home
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - July 26, 2012IN what will come as a relief for parents who put their babies into childcare, a study has found that by the age of two or three the children will be no worse off emotionally than those kept at home. But the study of 5000 infants found boys sent as babies to both family daycare (or grandparents)...
First-year childcare harmless: study
Sydney Morning Herald - Adele Horin - July 26, 2012CHILDCARE use in the first year of life has no discernible bad effects, according to a series of Australian studies that track children through to age eight or nine. Early use of centre-based childcare in particular has long been a contentious issue. The associate professor of early...
