The productivity commission is urging the federal government to modify the childcare subsidy to increase access to early childhood education for children from all backgrounds.
In a set of draft recommendations, the government’s independent research body “charted the course” for Australia to reach universal early childhood education and care but warned the Commonwealth would need to make wide-ranging changes.
That includes altering the childcare subsidy to allow all families to access up to three days of subsidised care a week, regardless of how many hours they work.
It called for families with an annual income of $80,000 or less to become eligible for a 100 per cent subsidy, up from the current 90 per cent.
Alongside recommending changes to the activity test, the commission also called on government to monitor variations in fees and investigate costs and profits across the sector every three years.
“Increases that vary markedly should prompt closer investigation, and a regulatory response should be considered if they are not reasonable,” the report said.
The Australian government should explore options to make information provided on government websites about CCS [child care subsidy] eligibility easy to find and easy to understand by families,” it recommended.
In its draft findings, the commission detailed how families from lower income or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds and those with disabilities not only face extra barriers to early education but that services in disadvantaged communities are often of poorer quality.
While some experts have called for all families to receive a 90 per cent childcare subsidy, the commission noted such a move would only benefit well-off families because most low-income households are already eligible for that rate.
Without expanding the early childhood education workforce, the commission said any other measures to bring about universal access were unlikely to succeed.
“The planned expansion of preschool in a number of states and territories will also affect universal access and further increase the demand for staff,” it said.
“Concerns about pay, conditions, career opportunities and qualification pathways for the [early childhood education and care] workforce have been a major concern for the sector for many years.”
The federal government has backed the commission’s findings around access inequity, with Early Childhood Education Minister Ann Aly agreeing there was more work to do.
“Where a child lives shouldn’t limit their ability to access the transformational benefits of early learning, helping them to thrive throughout life,” she said.
“We’re working to build the world-class early childhood education sector our children deserve, and that adapts to the needs of Australian families.”
The commission will deliver its final report in June 2024 following community consultation and public hearings.
(ABC)
