Childcare fund ‘fail’

TWO-THIRDS of childcare providers say the move to a new national subsidy scheme went “terribly” or “not so well”.

Childcare funding changes came into effect on July 2 to give parents breathing space in their tight household budgets and encourage more mums back into the workforce.

But the transition was mired with technical issues between third-party software systems and the new funding system, which forced some parents to pay full fees or centres to absorb the extra cost.

A survey of parents and 500 of the nation’s 13,000 childcare providers by the Australian Childcare Alliance exposed great angst about the changes.

However, providers said that “a good proportion” of families were better off from an affordability perspective.

The survey highlighted frustration from parents unable to get through to Centrelink on the phone or being misinformed by staff about key items. It found too many families needed help to complete the activity tests correctly.