CHILDCARE ’WAIT LIST’
THE Federal Government’s $1.7bn child care reforms – announced ahead of today’s Budget – have been welcome news for the sector yet providers say thousands of Gold Coast families are crying out for relief now. The changes, aimed at incentivising parents to return to work or take on additional hours, don’t kick in until 2022. Coombabah mother Sharmani Facey is returning to work three days a week after the birth of Cali, 3, and Koa, 21 months,
THOUSANDS of Gold Coast families financially crippled by the pandemic are unlikely to benefit from the government’s proposed $1.7bn child care reforms, with changes not taking effect until July 2022.
It’s hoped changes will incentivise more parents to return to work and take on additional hours. Families with two or more children in care will have their subsidies boosted by up to 30 per cent, a maximum of 95 per cent, for the second child and subsequent child.
The government suggests the change will benefit a quarter of a million families, by an average of $2260 per year.
The policy also help couples with a combined income of more than $189,390, by removing the subsidy cap that restricts them to a maximum of $10,560 per child a year.
Little Scholars founder Jae Fraser, who advocates on behalf of the Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland branch, has 10 centres including Ashmore, Burleigh, Ormeau, Nerang and Yatala.
“Yes it’s amazing news for families down the track, but not for those who need it right now,” he said.
“We’ve got families who are struggling financially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Realistically, because the changes aren’t taking place until 2022, parents aren’t going to see the financial benefits until 2023, so that’s a long time to wait.”
Mr Fraser said the changes were moving in the right direction, but that the government, and society in general, failed to consider the critical benefits of early learning.
He said studies showed for every dollar invested in early childcare, society received $2 back over a child’s life, with a US study saying the economic return was $7.30 for every dollar invested in highquality early childhood education.
“We need to stop looking at childcare as somewhere to put kids so parents can go to work, it’s about realising how crucial early learning, looking at educational outcomes and the long-term benefits to society.”
Coombabah mother Sharmani Facey didn’t return to the workforce fulltime after the birth of Cali, 3, and Koa, 21 months, because she would have only earned an extra $100 a week by doing so because of the cost of childcare.
Her children attend Harmony at Hope Island, a centre that opened in February with a new physical literacy program. Ms Facey, who recently retrained as a childcare worker and is returning to work three days a week, won’t benefit from the changes because her daughter starts school in 2022.
Harmony chief executive Peter Warner said the changes would help families tremendously but “one conversation somewhat left off the national agenda is the impact of this rapidly changing post 2020 environment on our children during some of the most crucial years of their learning and development”.
Amaze Education general manager Lucy Cook commended the changes, saying the annual cap was a major disincentive for secondary income earners when deciding how many days to work.