The Productivity Commission has released its draft inquiry report on Childcare and Early Childhood Learning.
Presiding Commissioner Dr Wendy Craik said the recommendations in the report seek to make child care more affordable, flexible and accessible as well as more financially sustainable for tax payers.
'It was clear from our research and the many comments and submissions that we received that child care and early childhood learning play a vital role in both child development and workforce participation.
However, our current system does not meet the needs of all families and the costs of supporting the current childcare system are increasing at an unsustainable rate for taxpayers,' said Dr Craik.
Assistant Minister for Education Sussan Ley has welcomed the draft report and says child care services are struggling with unnecessary and excessive red tape, however she emphasized the fact that this is a draft report and that there is more work to be done.
The report proposes three key areas of funding for the delivery of child care and early learning: Mainstream child care services; Children with disabilities and additional needs; and Preschool.
'Some of our key recommendations include replacing the current multiple child care subsidies with a single subsidy that would be paid directly to the parents' choice of provider, and be means and activity tested. The subsidy would be based on a set reasonable cost of care,' Dr Craik said.
The current Child Care Rebate covers 50 per cent of child care costs to the tune of $7500 per child per year with the Child Care Benefit offering additional support to lower income families.
Under the Commission’s recommended single subsidy the level of support would vary with family income so that those earning $60,000 or less would have 90 per cent of the costs of care subsidised reducing gradually to 30 per cent for families with an income of $300,000 or more.
This support would be available for: all centre-based ECEC services including long day care, occasional care and OSHC and all home-based care (including family day care and approved nannies) which satisfy the appropriate National Quality Standards
'Means-testing the child care rebate will mean that more families on very low incomes will pay less for their child care than they do now. We expect low income families would see around 90 per cent of their reasonable child care fees paid by Government,' Dr Craik said.
Importantly the Commission recommends that this subsidy be paid directly to providers, and be passed on to families as a discount in the fees charged.
Other key recommendations from the draft childcare report include:
- Nannies being eligible for child care subsidies subject to appropriate qualifications (au pairs would not be eligible).
- Removing restrictions on the number of child care places for occasional care and the hours that centres have to be open in order to receive Government subsidies.
- School principals being responsible for ensuring schools offer before and after school care, including care for preschoolers.
- A continuation of Government support for access to preschool for all children in the year before starting school.
- Increasing funding and subsidies for children with disabilities and additional needs.
Dr Craik said the Productivity Commission supports retention of the National Quality Framework and extending it to other subsidised services but she says it needs to be more flexible and targeted for the types of services provided.
The Childcare and Early Childhood Learning report is a draft and the Productivity Commission is inviting further comment and feedback on its initial recommendations and will hold public hearings in various locations during August.
|
