Childcare centres risk leaving families out of pocket
LAZY childcare centres risk leaving up to 127,000 families significantly out of pocket as a result of their failure to sign up to the new subsidy system.
With less than three weeks to go until the government’s childcare changes come into force, 707 centres are still yet to switch over to the new system.
This means even if families using those centres have updated their details and registered for the new subsidy, they may still face huge bills by missing out on their rebate.
Depending on income level, families usually get 50 per cent or more of their daily childcare fee subsidised by the government, with many opting to have fees paid to their centre.
Some centres charge up to $200 per child, per day before any subsidy.
Departmental staff have been calling the lagging centres up to twice a day to encourage them to switch over, but many are busy and think they can leave it to the last minute. Some don’t understand the new system or are having trouble getting together everything they need to sign up.
A total of 12,183 childcare providers have already signed up to the new system but those dragging their feet could impact thousands of parents.
Up to 320,000 parents, one in three accessing childcare, are also still not registered.
Nesha Hutchinson from the Australian Childcare Alliance said there were often up to 180 families per centre, varying by state and size of the facility.
“The reality is there are going to be families who will be overcharged or centres who simply won’t be able to pay their staff as a result of leaving it this late,” she said.
Education Minister Simon Birmingham said where necessary his department would book in times for the department to personally walk centres through the transition.
Alys Gagnon, executive director of The Parenthood, said the government needed to step up and make sure there were contingencies in place.
Opposition early childhood spokeswoman Amanda Rishworth said the cumbersome system was to blame.