Child Care News

Childcare operators call for rebate means test
Sydney Morning Herald - Stephanie Peatling - June 17, 2012

CHILDCARE operators are pushing the federal government to consider a means test on the childcare rebate as part of its policy shake-up. The rebate is the only family assistance payment that is not subject to an income test and pays parents up to $7500 a year for each child to help...

Shut those noisy children up, say killjoys
Herald Sun - John Masanauskas - June 16, 2012

CHILDCARE centres have been warned to limit the noise of kids shouting and running around to avoid annoying neighbours. VCAT has ruled that because kids in centres play outdoors much more than years ago, the noise impacts had to be considered. In a landmark 1970s decision, the...

Schools for at-risk students miss mark
The Canberra Times - Noel Towell - June 13, 2012

An ACT government schools program, meant to help vulnerable children get a good start, risks creating "schools of choice" for middle-class families, according to the Auditor-General Maxine Cooper. Dr Cooper found that an indigenous pre-school program has a "disproportionately low"...

Daycare shifts to flexibility
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - June 12, 2012

THE Gillard government is looking to grow family daycare, a home-based childcare alternative, in a bid to offer parents more options and flexibility. Family Day Care Australia is pushing the government to consider a range of funding options for the sector, including out of standard work...

Families slugged for missed jabs
The Australian - Natasha Bita - June 11, 2012

THE federal government has stopped the childcare subsidies of more than 23,000 families for refusing or forgetting to vaccinate their children over the past year. But more than 16,000 other families avoided the financial penalties by signing conscientious objection forms. Data from…

Unions push for councils
The Age - Michelle Grattan - June 11, 2012

Secretary of the ACTU Dave Oliver said the recent approach adopted in manufacturing, with a tripartite taskforce, should be used elsewhere. Councils should be set up in, for example, the retail and hospitality, construction and childcare sectors. "We are keen to promote collaboration...

Childcare tax breaks only help the rich: Treasury
Sydney Morning Herald - Stephanie Peatling - June 10, 2012

TAX-DEDUCTIBLE childcare would benefit only high-income families and leave low- and middle-income parents thousands of dollars a year worse off, Treasury modelling has found. Some industry and business groups have called for tax-deductible care costs as an incentive to increase...

Preschool mental health checks
Sydney Morning Herald - Jill Stark - June 10, 2012

THREE-YEAR-OLDS will be screened for early signs of mental illness in a new federal government program that will consider behaviour such as sleeping with the light on, temper tantrums or extreme shyness as signs of possible psychological problems. The Healthy Kids Check - starting...

Prime Minister Julia Gillard eyes plan for care rebate to cover nannies
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - June 9, 2012

JULIA Gillard is considering ways to make childcare more flexible for families with non-traditional working hours, including a proposal for a dramatic expansion of the government-subsidised nanny scheme. In a submission to the Prime Minister and Childcare Minister Kate Ellis this week...

Cheaper to have kids on welfare, says Tony Abbott
The Daily Telegraph - Alison McMeekin - June 9, 2012

FAMILIES who receive welfare benefits can afford to have more children than others, according to Tony Abbott. In a wide-ranging speech yesterday the Opposition Leader talked up the Coalition's paid parental leave scheme, which gives mothers six months leave at their full wage. Mr Abbott...

It's the young 'uns who really count
Financial Review - Alan Stokes - June 9, 2012

Bear with me while I slip this old bullet-proof romper suit over my steel-lined nappy so I can crawl into the crazy childcare debate. As a father of five, my crazy ideas about fixing childcare are probably worth as much as the myriad non-parents pushing barrows for their vested interests...

Kicking kids beat bullies
The West Australian - Bethany Hiatt - June 9, 2012

Toddlers as young as three will learn how to combat bullies and abductors using a modified form of Israeli self-defence system Krav Maga if a program being considered by WA childcare centres is adopted. About 20 centres across Perth have shown interest in the Dynamight Kids...

Preschool numbers drop as parents struggle
Sydney Morning Herald - Kim Arlington - June 8, 2012

HEATHER CLEMENT has calculated it will cost up to $4200 more to send her son, Ben, to the preschool at Darlington Public School than to keep him at the day-care centre next door. She wanted to move him to the preschool next year to prepare him for kindergarten but has been...

Daycare: it's not child's play
Financial Review - Emma Connors - June 8, 2012

Working mothers have always swapped childcare stories. Lately, these stories have taken on a desperate tone, with some mothers unable to find carers for their offspring and others reeling from fee increases of up to 10 per cent. Childcare experts sat down with Prime Minister Julia Gillard...

Bold reform demands fearless politicians - do we have any?
The Age - Michelle Grattan - June 8, 2012

Our prosperity relies on getting more women and older people in the workforce. WHEN Julia Gillard met the childcare sector to discuss affordability yesterday, she was concerned mainly with the cost-of-living pressures people are feeling. She knows this is a lethal electoral issue. But, when...