Child Care News
Sacked worker wins payout for childcare
The Australian - Stephen Lunn - March 16, 2012Fair Work Australia has awarded a woman unfairly sacked from a Victorian gym compensation for her childcare costs while looking for a new job. In a ruling experts warn could force employers to change their attitude on future settlement payouts...
Girl, 4, in hospital after child-care accident
The Age - Mex Cooper - March 15, 2012A four-year-old girl has been taken to hospital with serious head injuries after being knocked unconscious by a wooden television trolley at a child-care centre in Melbourne's north. The girl is believed to have pulled the wooden trolley then fallen face down...
Childcare rebate not claimed
The West Australian - Kate Bastians - March 15, 2012Thousands of WA families are missing out on millions of dollars by failing to claim the childcare rebate. Federal Government figures show about 8000 WA families, or 12 per cent of families using approved childcare centres...
Union wants more government cash for childcare
ABC News - Gail Liston - March 14, 2012The Childcare Educators Union says both the Northern Territory and Federal governments need to commit to investing more money on childcare in Alice Springs. Today, the union invited Labor's Lynne Walker and the CLP's Robyn Lambley...
Childcare Alliance warns of coming cost blowout
The Australian - Sue Dunlevy - March 13, 2012The value of the Child Care Benefit has been eroded by 19 per cent in the past decade and now covers only 41 per cent of revenue in some centres. The Australian Childcare Alliance says out-of-pocket expenses faced by parents will grow by...
Our kids don't need diversity dolls
Herald Sun - Susie O'Brien - March 13, 2012You can't give a child a golliwog anymore for fear of being branded racist. So why do we need black, white, Asian and Aboriginal diversity dolls? The giant dolls, which are being used in Victorian schools, childcare centres and preschools...
Means-testing is no free lunch
The Australian - Judith Sloan - March 13, 2012The real message for governments is to desist from introducing entitlement programs in the first instance and to rein in the ones that already exist. Self-reliance beats fiscal churn any day...
In defence of stay-at-home mums
Essential Baby - Victoria Birch - March 7, 2012Stay-at-home-mums work as hard as anyone I know. By caring for our children at home we alleviate the pressure on childcare places, provide a safe and supportive environment with an exemplary carer to child ratio. We educate, feed and...
Early warning for economy
The Mercury - Nick Clark - March 07, 2012Mr Mendelson said childcare debts were mounting and were notoriously hard to collect. "The government rebate associated with childcare tends to create complacency and when payment is due, it becomes hard to collect," he said...
Regional childcare gets funding boost
Merredin-Wheatbelt Mercury - March 06, 2012Childcare providers in regional WA can apply for Royalties for Regions funding of up to $10,000 under the first round of regional childcare development fund grants which was launched last Tuesday. The grants are part of the $9.3 million regional childcare development fund...
Anna Bligh unveils 'unique' royalties scheme
The Australian - Jared Owens - March 06, 2012Launching the policy in Mackay, the Queensland Premier said a re-elected Labor government would provide the money over four years to fund worthy social infrastructure projects such as airport upgrades, childcare centres and sports facilities...
Bob Katter's daughter Caroline Katter Coupland is on trial over alleged assault
The Sunday Telegraph - Brenden Hills - March 04, 2012Independent MP Bob Katter's daughter will stand trial next month charged with assaulting a staff member of an elite Sydney day care centre. Caroline Katter Coupland, 37, of Mosman, will appear in North Sydney Local Court over an alleged assault on a staff member of Sally's Place, a $130-a-day Mosman pre-school...
Preschool teachers fall through pay gap
Illawarra Mercury - Kate McIlwain - March 02, 2012Pay disparity between early childhood and primary school teachers in NSW could create a chronic shortage of preschool teachers, an Illawarra preschool director has warned. Maria Whitcher, who has worked at the community-based Kiama Preschool for 25 years, said not being able to offer competitive salaries...
Childcare rebates go unclaimed
The Advertiser - Ken McGregor - March 02, 2012THOUSANDS of South Australian families are missing out on millions by failing to claim childcare rebates. Federal Government figures released toThe Advertiser show an estimated 6000 SA families, or one in 10 who use approved childcare centres, are failing to claim the rebates...
36 per cent growth in child care services
Kate Ellis MP - Minister for Early Childhood and Child Care - February 29, 2012New data shows 36 per cent increase in the number of child care services across Australia, since Labor was elected in 2007. The Australian Government funds an unlimited number of child care places, which supports new services to set up and existing services to expand to meet growing demand...
