The Election Result - CareforKids.com.au®

The Election Result
What does it mean for child care and working families?

After several weeks of rather tiring to-ing and fro-ing, the final results are in.

What does the result of the election and multi party government mean in terms of child care policies and working families? Will there be a sort of hybrid of everyone's policies or a clear vision of how the government will continue to assist today's working parents with both child care benefits, paid parental leave and the child care rebate?

In it's first term Labor initiated various policies affecting working parents and child care, being the introduction of the paid parental leave scheme (from January 2011) and the optional fortnightly child care rebate payment from July 2011.

We highlight the child care policies Labor & the Greens have pledged to help working parents.

LABOR

An investment of $17.1 billion over the next four years in early childhood education and child care.
Payment of the Child Care Rebate up to 50% of parent's out-of-pocket expenses up to a maximum of $7,500 a year.
A move to pay Child Care Rebate fortnightly from 1 July 2011, so that parents get this important assistance at the same time they need to pay their child care bills. Parents will be able to choose to have this assistance paid to their child care service and receive the rebate as a direct deduction to their child care bill.
A new National Quality Standard, which will ensure a consistent quality of child care and early education across the country.
Improved staff to child ratios so that each child gets more individual care and attention and we will improve staff qualifications, so that staff can lead activities that help children learn and develop.
A new national body – the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority – to monitor the quality of child care across the country and provide information and assistance to services.
Introduction of a quality ratings system so parents know the quality of care on offer across different services and services will know where they need to improve.
Funding for an unlimited amount of child care places across the country. This enables new child care services to set up and existing child care services to expand, to meet the needs of local communities.
Continuation of the investment of $970 million to 2013 so that every child has access to 15 hours a week of preschool or kindergarten in the year before school by 2013.
The paid parental leave scheme will also start as planned from January 1 2011, providing 18 weeks of pay at the minimum wage which can be split between mother and father.
From 1 July 2012, Federal Labor will provide eligible working fathers and partners with two weeks Paid Paternity Leave at the national minimum wage – currently $570 a week.

THE GREENS

The Greens will support nationally consistent Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) standards with more highly qualified staff and lower carer-to-child ratios of at least 1:3 for children aged 0-2, and 1:4 for children aged over two and smaller groups.
Support a Productivity Commission inquiry to look into the payment of services to work out the most cost-effective method of service delivery.
Establish a Capital Grants Fund of $200 million over four years ($50 million per year) to allow individual community centres to apply with quotes for capital grants work to build infrastructure.
Establish a Co-op Childcare Fund to provide $10m in grants for local, small and medium businesses to collectively establish childcare facilities for their employees. This fund could see up to 100 new centres established for around 1500 children.
Will fight for more publicly funded, community-based and not-for-profit child care facilities, especially in areas of high unmet demand or growth and areas of high socio-economic need. The new National Quality Framework on ECEC must guarantee a place for all children under 3 by 2012.
Will ensure that their initiative to have fortnightly payments of the childcare rebate commences as soon as possible.

Let’s just say the next three years will be very interesting…

Go to CareforKids Social to share your thoughts on child care policy.

CareforKids.com.au wishes to thank the offices of Senator Hanson-Young and Minister Kate Ellis for providing the above information.