Affordable childcare is a no brainer for unlocking the workforce
Women's Agenda - Sue Morphet - May 19, 2022
Higher full-time female workforce participation is an economic necessity, writes Sue Morphet, past president of Chief Executive Women. But it won’t happen without policies enabling more affordable and accessible early childhood education. Australian women are the...
No fees and more support: Exactly where the major parties stand on childcare.
MamaMia - Brielle Burns - May 18, 2022
With the cost-of-living rising, childcare remains a major issue affecting Aussie families right now.
Not only are parents reaching further into their pockets than ever before, but childcare costs are getting in the way of women's participation in the workforce...
Out of school hours care providers fear getting squeezed in trial
The Age - Daniella White - May 18, 2022
Before and after school care providers fear the NSW government’s trial of extended school hours will undermine their commercial viability, warning it will create uncertainty in an already strained industry. The sector wants assurances that existing services won’t be financially...
Family scorecard puts Labor ahead on childcare, but both major parties behind on parental leave
The Sydney Morning Herald - Jordan Baker - May 17, 2022
Labor’s election promises do more to help families balance work and care but neither party has done enough to help parents under pressure, particularly when it comes to paid parental leave, a review of the two major parties’ policies by more than 30 academics has found...
Latest Burgess Rawson auction campaign sees robust ECEC centre demand
The Sector - Jason Roberts - May 17, 2022
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) real estate and business broker Burgess Rawson has completed its May auction campaign in which six ECEC centres were sold for a combined total of $16.6 million. The centres, located across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria...
ECEC quality ratings edge higher despite slowdown in A&R visits and spike in waivers
The Sector - Jason Roberts - May 17, 2022
The percentage of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services rated as meeting or exceeding the National Quality Standard (NQS) has edged to a new record despite a significant reduction in Regulatory Authority (RA) quality focused visits and a jump in staffing waivers...
RAT rule change for Vic ECEC services, and updates on other programs and services
The Sector - Freya Lucas - May 16, 2022
Lisa Gandolfo, the Assistant Deputy Secretary of Early Childhood Education for the Victorian Department of Education and Training, has issued an update for early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. Ms Gandolfo’s update shared important information about the...
Free kindergarten available for Victorian families
Northern Star Weekly - May 15, 2022
Victorian families, such as those in Hume and Whittlesea, will have access to more free kindergarten education next year thanks to a $131 million investment from the Victorian government. Families will have access to between five and fifteen hours of funded three-year-old...
‘Postcode lottery’: The suburbs where families are living in ‘childcare deserts’
The Daily Telegraph - Alexandra Smith - May 14, 2022
Childcare is shaping to be a key element of next month’s NSW budget as new figures show women in affluent areas of Sydney have significantly more access to care than those in poorer suburbs. The state government’s proposed intervention into childcare, which is currently...
If governments were really concerned about tax and the cost of living they would cut the cost of childcare
The Conversation - Miranda Stewart, Angela Jackson and Leonora Risse - May 13, 2022
Amid the talk about tax changes set to cut the middle-income rate to 30%, a shortage of workers and incomes not keeping up with the cost of living, one common threat shines through. It’s the cost of childcare, which, according to new calculations, imposes an effective tax...
The Hills Shire: List of new childcare centres proposed for north west Sydney
The Daily Telegraph - Odessa Blain - May 13, 2022
The rapid pace of residential development in north west Sydney has been met with calls from residents to increase the number childcare centres. Current trends indicate there will be 107,000 new Hills residents in the next 14 years. This is staggering population growth...
NSW Health warns of flu risk in ECEC where infants may never have been exposed
The Sector - Freya Lucas - May 13, 2022
NSW Health has issued a specific warning to early childhood education and care (ECEC) services as the cooler weather rolls in, noting that influenza and COVID-19 present “a double threat” to the smooth operation of schools and early childhood services over the winter months. Due to low exposure to flu over the past two years with international and state borders closed, there is a...
Childcare policies 'miss the mark' as nine million Australians struggle to access care, research shows
ABC News - Zara Margolis and Larissa Waterson - May 13, 2022
Educator Lyndal Mayer says she is fed up with Australia's major political parties "constantly missing the mark" when it comes to the country's childcare crisis. Ms Mayer, who is chief executive of Queensland Lutheran Early Childhood Services, said she had watched...
Wage support for ECEC services which engage apprentices and trainees
The Sector - Freya Lucas - May 13, 2022
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services who engage an apprentice or trainee between 5 October 2020 and 30 June 2022 may be eligible for a subsidy of 50 per cent of gross wages (up to $7,000 per quarter) for 12 months, with the program closing to...
Parents turned away as childcare centres don’t have enough staff
The Courier Mail - Jackie Sinnerton - May 12, 2022
Queensland’s childcare industry is being crippled by worker shortages with many centres forced to turn parents away due to regulatory child and staff ratios. The number of job vacancies in the early learning sector are at record highs across the country with one in 10...
Childcare costs another negative for Coalition in teal seats
Financial Review - Julie Hare - May 10, 2022
Exorbitant childcare costs in key blue ribbon Liberal seats could be a secret weapon for teal independents against the federal government. New data from the Mitchell Institute shows that five of the 10 most expensive electorates for childcare in Australia have...
Launch into Work could be the answer to workforce shortage for some ECEC services
The Sector - Freya Lucas - May 10, 2022
Launch into Work, an initiative of the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) could be the answer to the workforce shortage challenge being experienced by many early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. The program supports the delivery...
‘Childcare deserts’ leave the nation’s at-risk kids even worse off
The Sydney Morning Herald - Nicole Precel and Nigel Gladstone - May 9, 2022
Parents in regional Australia have the most developmentally vulnerable children but the poorest access to childcare, according to new analysis which also reveals that some of the country’s most expensive childcare is in Liberal-held electorates being challenged by “teal”...
Building Futures Montessori submit development proposal for Wynnum childcare centre
The Courier Mail - Brayden Heslehurst - May 9, 2022
A southeast Queensland early learning giant could be the latest company to move into Brisbane bayside’s booming CBD after submitting a development proposal to build one of the area’s biggest childcare centres. Building Futures Montessori submitted a development...
Applications open for early childhood education flood grants
NSW Government - May 8, 2022
Applications are now open for grants of up to $30,000 for early childhood education and care (ECEC) services impacted by major flooding in the Northern Rivers. $9 million in funding is available to help eligible services in the Lismore, Ballina, Byron, Kyogle, Richmond...
LDC new centre growth rate falls again whilst other settings spike higher according to latest NQF Snapshot
The Sector - Jason Roberts - May 8, 2022
The annual growth rate of long day care (LDC) services in Australia has fallen to just 2.8 per cent, a level not seen since 2016 and materially lower than the high point recorded prior to COVID-19, according to the latest release of the Australian Children’s Education...
Early learning & care is radically unaffordable but there is a bigger crisis
Women's Agenda - Georgie Dent - May 6, 2022
On Mother’s Day in 2015 the then-Social Services Minister, Scott Morrison, announced a substantial package to make early childhood education and care more affordable and accessible to families. A Media Release, published on 10 May 2015 announcing the investment...
New Child Safe Standards come into effect on 1 July 2022
The Sector - Freya Lucas - May 6, 2022
The Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) have released resources to help organisations implement the new Child Safe Standards which come into effect for Victorian organisations, including early childhood education and care (ECEC) services from 1 July 2022...
New research aims to highlight the barriers and facilitators to participation in ECEC
The Sector - Freya Lucas - May 6, 2022
New research from Australian and International researchers has aimed to highlight the barriers and facilitators to participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC) finding that the availability of longer days drew families to ECEC while cost was noted as a detractor...
ECEC workforce needs strong investment to overcome shortages new report finds
The Sector - Freya Lucas - May 6, 2022
Shortages in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce should be tackled through investment which would in turn boost employment, unlock productivity and support life-long development outcomes for children, a new report from the Carmichael Centre...
Childcare staffing crisis set to get worse, warns report
The Daily Telegraph - Julie Cross - May 6, 2022
Exclusive: About one in 10 childcare centre roles are vacant, according to the latest data, as a new report predicts the staffing crisis will only get worse. The lack of workers means thousands of centres are operating with waivers to permit operation despite inadequate...
Goodstart Early Learning to expand EChO network to support more children
The Sector - Freya Lucas - May 5, 2022
Goodstart Early Learning, Australia’s largest early childhood education and care (ECEC) provider has announced that it will provide support services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, and child and family practitioner support to more of its centres using...
Vic government directs more than $217 million to early learning in 2022/23 Budget
The Sector - Freya Lucas - May 4, 2022
The recently announced Victorian Budget for 2022/23 has allocated an investment of more than $217 million to various facets of early learning including its Universal Access program for Kindergarten. Aside from the investment in maintaining universal access to four-year-old...
Make affordable childcare part of the education system
Financial Review - Georgie Dent - May 3, 2022
Speak to any working parent with children under five and they have a similar problem. They either can’t get a spot in their local early learning centre or if they do, they are paying fees starting at $130 plus per day for access before receiving any subsidy. We pay some of...
190,000 Before and After School Care vouchers already downloaded by families
NSW Government - May 3, 2022
More than 190,000 vouchers, worth $500 each, have been claimed by families for Before and After School Care (BASC) since the NSW Government program was announced in February. The $155 million BASC Voucher Program is providing one voucher per child to...
