Childcare subsidy changes leading to "chaos" for parents
ABC Radio - Julia Doyle on AM - September 21, 2018
Families with a parent or child suffering from a major illness or disability say they have been left out in the cold by changes to the Federal Government's childcare subsidy. While the overhaul of childcare payments to families, which came into force in July, has helped many parents using...
In-home childcare subsidy changes leaving vulnerable families out of pocket
ABC News - Julie Doyle - September 21, 2018
Some of Australia's most vulnerable families feel they have been abandoned by the Federal Government after changes to childcare payments left them with huge costs and a bureaucratic nightmare. An overhaul of the childcare subsidies system came into effect on July 2, and since then families...
Preschool funding to support about 400 new places
Northern Daily - September 20, 2018
NEW, bigger, mobile or renovated preschools could be funded through a $6 million infrastructure investment into about 400 new preschool places across the state. The Start Strong Capital Works Grants program aims to increase the number of places available in areas of high need and demand...
Childcare and unit development proposal at Enogerra threatens to make a mockery of Brisbane's City Plan, says resident
The Courier Mail - Andrea Macleod - September 20, 2018
Residents fighting a development in a suburban street say it threatens to make a mockery of Brisbane City Council's City Plan. Enoggera resident Paul Aldred said if the council approved the development application for 19 units and a child care centre at 18-22 Dalmarnock St it would give developers...
Project hopes children could prove key in creating change in aged care
Aged Care Guide - September 20, 2018
The two models used in the project include the Shared Campus model - where aged day care and child day care centres offer their programs on the same site with shared infrastructure and facilities, with the intergenerational care program then provided in a multi-function room common to both...
How market forces have failed the nation
Sydney Morning Herald - Ross Gittins - September 19, 2018
Then came the expansion of childcare to for-profit providers, the move by successive federal and state governments to make technical and further education "contestable" by private providers, and the decision to open the provision of aged care to for-profit providers...
Inclusive childcare helps Kate thrive
The West Australian - Shannon Beattie - September 19, 2018
A local childcare centre is being praised by the the WA Inclusion Agency for the innovative work they've undertaken to make the facility more accessible. One Tree Millars Well has instigated initiatives to accommodate four-year-old Kate Hill, who has one of the rarest conditions in the world...
Climate: The looming threat to Queensland's health
Sydney Morning Herald - Fahim Tonmoy, David Rissik & Fiona Armstrong - September 18, 2018
The report consulted widely. Major health organisations, hospitals and health services, aged care services, early childhood education and childcare services and social sector organisations who work with vulnerable community members all contributed to its development. While most stakeholders...
Deadline looms to join child care system
SBS - September 18, 2018
Eligible families have five days left to apply for the federal government's new child care subsidy and receive backdated payments. Parents have until Saturday to complete an online assessment through their Centrelink account to apply for payments to be backdated from July 2...
Boom in Adelaide child care vacancies
9News.com.au - Jessica Stanley - September 18, 2018
Finding a child care vacancy can be a struggle for Adelaide parents, but a multi-million dollar investment could help reduce waiting lists and open up more vacancies. Goodstart Early Learning is opening up six new child care centres over the next 18 months, starting with Cheltenham...
Wages rising faster than living costs, professor says
The Australian - David Uren - September 18, 2018
Professor Wooden said people noticed the rise in the price of electricity or petrol, but not the offsetting fall in the cost of groceries. Over the past year, there have been big rises in petrol, up 16.3 per cent, and electricity, up 10.4 per cent, while childcare costs have gone up 6.0 per cent...
Maribyrnong councillor Sarah Carter spends $100 a week on phone bill
Herald Sun - Chanel Zagon - September 18, 2018
COUNCILLORS in Melbourne's west are racking up close to $1000 a week in expense claims on phones, child care and training. Figures show from May to July Maribyrnong's seven councillors claimed a whopping $12,577 on out of pocket expenses - more than double that of neighbouring...
Shorts pile into G8 Education as debt deals near
Financial Review - Sarah Thompson & Anthony Macdonald - September 17, 2018
The bets against listed child care operator G8 Education are starting to stack up as attention turns to whether the company's two debt deals due to be closed in the coming month. G8 Education is in the market for $400 million in fresh debt to refinance its Singapore-listed bonds...
PM should ensure Peter Dutton's case is heard in High Court
The Australian - George Williams - September 17, 2018
While Scott Morrison has sought to deflect Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton's eligibility issues by saying they are nothing more than a "lawyers' picnic", the fact is serious questions remain about whether Dutton is entitled to sit in parliament. There are real and unresolved issues...
Handouts not answer to robot threat, says leading philanthropist
Sydney Morning Herald - Jennifer Duke - September 16, 2018
Philanthropist Michael Milken has urged governments not to consider a universal basic income as a solution to the automation of the workforce, but to focus on subsidised housing, education, healthcare and childcare. Mr Milken, chairman of the Milken Institute, said he was...
Good news and bad news for the women of Australia
Sydney Morning Herald - Ittima Cherastidtham - September 16, 2018
It's a vicious cycle. The lower pay reduces the incentive to return to work, especially given the high cost of childcare. And this in turn means women with children accumulate less experience and gain fewer promotions. This phenomenon is by no means unique to Australia...
An economic narrative for re-election
Sydney Morning Herald - Simon Cowan - September 15, 2018
The second area is childcare, where the campaign for even greater subsidies is just winding up. The cost of childcare directly impacts the decisions of parents to work. As recent CIS research has highlighted, government regulation has been a key factor in driving up those costs...
Woollahra parents up in arms as childcare centre to be sold for $9.5m as a house
Sydney Morning Herald - Lucy Maken - September 15, 2018
The closure of a Woollahra childcare centre and moves to offer the property to the luxury residential market for about $9.5 million have drawn the ire of locals outraged at the loss of yet another community centre. The Benevolent Society's decision to close the Sir Philip Baxter Childcare...
Childcare beacons in the storm
Sydney Morning Herald - Nicole Lindsay - September 15, 2018
A record $11 million-plus childcare deal was struck this week amid a sea of pain in the niche sector. CBRE's health team, Sandro Peluso, Josh Twelftree and Jimmy Tat, sold Buckets Early Learning at 188 Tucker Road Bentleigh for $11.7 million on a yield of 5.53 per cent. It's the second...
Peter Dutton's right to sit in Parliament is in grave doubt: Constitutional expert
The New Daily - September 15, 2018
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has been dealt another legal blow as constitutional law expert Anne Twomey says her advice for his referral to the High Court is "stronger" than ever. Professor Twomey told The Australian the Solicitor-General's opinion brings up information about...
Cronyism is a weeping sore in Australian government
Sydney Morning Herald - Jack Waterford - September 15, 2018
Nor to stand aside while the High Court considers if he is disqualified from holding office for being in a commercial arrangement with government by virtue of the millions received by a family-owned child-care operation. It will be hard enough to hold his seat at a general elections...
Queensland Entrepreneur of the Year and Gold Coast businessman Jae Fraser says G8 Education needs to refocus on core business
Gold Coast Bulletin - Alister Thomson - September 14, 2018
A FORMER general manager of G8 Education says the company needs to refocus on its existing network and service offering rather than continuing to grow in an industry facing oversupply issues. Gold Coast businessman Jae Fraser, who runs the seven-strong Little Scholars School...
Banco Chambers to help with baby 'double whammy'
Financial Review - Michael Pelly - September 13, 2018
A leading floor of barristers has set up a "baby leave" policy that will cover costs of about $30,000 and provide mentoring by silks when parents return to work. Banco Chambers in Sydney has committed to providing a six-month indemnity on floor fees and hopes it will stop women...
Julie Bishop backs Malcolm Turnbull's call to refer Peter Dutton to High Court
Financial Review - Phillip Coorey - September 13, 2018
Legal opinion is divided over whether Mr Dutton's eligibility should be tested because two childcare centres held in a family trust potentially put him in breach of section 44(v) of the Constitution. Under the section, anyone who "has any direct or indirect pecuniary interest in any agreement...
Scott Morrison rejects Malcolm Turnbull plot to refer Peter Dutton
The Australian - Greg Brown and Remya Varga - September 13, 2018
A cloud has been over Mr Dutton's eligibility due to his family's financial interests in two Brisbane childcare centres that received $5.6 million in taxpayer-funded rebates over the past eight years. Confirming his lobbying of ministers, Mr Turnbull tweeted early this morning...
No bidders for childcare centres as oversupply fears bite
Financial Review - Larry Schlesinger - September 12, 2018
The previously red-hot childcare property sector came crashing back to earth this week as investors turned their backs on a portfolio of seven centres, with just one selling under the hammer at a lacklustre auction at Melbourne's Crown Casino. "I see a lot of folded arms in the room,"...
Skye Capital Advisory crucial to debt deals the banks are too shy to touch
Financial Review - Sarah Thompson & Anthony Macdonald - September 12, 2018
Skye Capital opened its doors one year ago and has since advised on the refinance and upsize of ASX-listed Think Childcare's debt facilities; arranged the debt facilities of LJ Hooker; and navigated the debt component of Livingbridge's acquisition of TSA Management and Allegro...
Premier Berejiklian visits Dubbo to announce $3 million drought-relief package for preschools
Daily Liberal - Antonia O'Flaherty - September 12, 2018
She said the package would provide for communities most impacted by the drought like Dubbo West Preschool, where the package was announced with Minister for Early Childhood Education Sarah Mitchell. "Each preschool in the drought-intense area will receive at least $3000...
G8 Education joins top 10 ASX shorted stocks
Financial Review - Simon Evans - September 12, 2018
G8 Education has risen up the ranks to find itself in the unwanted position of now being in the top 10 most shorted stocks on the ASX, as investors bet that it will continue to have a tough time in a sector where pockets of oversupply of childcare places have temporarily distorted...
New Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan comes under fire for funding changes
The Standard - Andrew Thompson - September 12, 2018
NEW Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan has come under fire after changes to the National Occasional Care Program which has seen 360 placements and funding of $300,000 axed in his electorate. Opposition Federal spokeswoman for Early Childhood Education and Development...
