The Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA), the peak body for early learning services, applauds today’s $4 billion announcement by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to change the Child Care Subsidy framework to improve the affordability of early learning services for many Australian families, particularly for those families on the lowest incomes.
“We’ve been actively calling for a revision of the Child Care Subsidy parameters to bring all families back into the picture, and this is an enormous step forward.” ACA President Paul Mondo said.
“Whilst this recent commitment does not resolve all of the issues associated with the activity test it would ensure that many Australian families would be better off as a result of the increase in subsidies, particularly for vulnerable and disadvantaged families.”
“We also welcome the review of the Additional Child Care Subsidy to ensure that those families who require the support of the Child Care Safety Net can access the available subsidies as soon as possible via a simple process. This is something we have been advocating for since the transition to the new system” Mr Mondo continued.
“ACA welcomes the ALP’s acknowledgement that families cannot be out of pocket to fund an increase in educator wages along with the commitment to fully fund the proposed 20% wage increase for a period of eight years.” Mr Mondo said.
“However we are keen to understand in greater detail this policy announcement to ensure that families are not left worse off and to ensure that this additional support is fully funded for perpetuity and the long-term viability of the early learning sector.”
“With over 10,000 early learning services delivering kindergarten/preschool programs across Australia, and over 60% (over 6,800 services) of these programs being delivered by long day care centres, the long-term viability of the long day care sector is imperative for the ongoing delivery of these programs.”
“The ALP’s recognition of the benefits of early learning for our children and the need for affordable, quality services for all Australian families is welcomed and applauded.” Mr Mondo said.
“ACA calls on the Coalition to match this commitment and adopt all of ACA’s recommended policies with a view to ensuring that every child in Australia has the best start in life.” Mr Mondo concluded.
