Costly childcare fees

MATTHEW KILLORAN

“OUT-OF-CONTROL” childcare costs are soaring under a new subsidy scheme as the industry warns there is more hippocket pain to come.

Even fees for some Queensland parents on the highest discount are hundreds of dollars higher than they were 12 months earlier.

Prices are expected to substantially rise again later this year, with a review of childcare worker wages anticipated in the coming months.

The cost increases are biting now as parents return to work and scramble to find extra care for their children until school returns.

Education Minister Dan Tehan flagged that more action would be announced soon to crack down on excessive fee increases by rogue childcare operators. Parents are forking out hundreds to thousands of dollars more, depending on where they live and how much they earn, just covering the increased costs applied by providers since the subsidy started on July 2, 2018. The subsidy covers up to 85 per cent of the childcare fee depending on a family’s household income.

Education Department data from September 2018 to September 2019 shows that childcare costs rose 4.2 per cent on average from $9.50/ hour to $9.90/hour during the 12-month period.

Queensland Council of Social Services boss Mark Henley said child care was becoming unaffordable for many families.

“For someone on minimum wage, there’s a decision to be made as to whether it’s more costly to have a job and put kids in child care, or if you’re saving money by staying at home,” he said.

Australian Childcare Association vice-president Nesha Hutchinson said profit margins were falling as rent and wage increases put pressure on care operators.

“When they’re putting up prices, they don’t want to gouge families, they’re just trying to remain financially viable,” she said.

Despite the soaring costs, Mr Tehan said many Australian families were still paying less out of pocket now than they were before the new subsidy system started.

“During the September quarter 2019, 58,690 Queensland families using Centre Based Day Care had out-ofpocket costs of less than $2 an hour per child,” he said.

Opposition early childhood education spokeswoman Amanda Rishworth said childcare fees in Queensland were “out of control”.