Albanese wants universal childcare to be his legacy. But paying for it isn’t as easy as ABC
Labor is running out of time to make its case to Australian families about how they are going to make childcare accessible and affordable for all Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast Rachel Hill, a mother of two from Sydney, explains the maths of family planning. The not-for-profit worker recently bumped up her workload from two days a week to full-time to try to cover…
Labor leader Anthony Albanese hopes to make universal childcare part of his legacy. However, funding this program poses a challenge. The government aims to make childcare "available, quality and affordable," but the sector is plagued by allegations of child abuse and safety breaches. This, along with the goal of increasing births, has led to the implementation of a universal childcare system.
The government has commissioned two consulting firms, Deloitte and KPMG, to study the feasibility and options for the program. The Deloitte report focuses on the cost of childcare services across Australia, while KPMG explores the potential of the government owning and leasing childcare centers. The $1bn Building Early Education Fund is being used to support not-for-profit providers in building childcare centers, with Goodstart Early Learning being one of the recipients.
To attract not-for-profit providers, the government aims to increase their share in the childcare sector to 70%. However, the rising childcare fees and subsidies present a financial challenge, with a family with one child and a household income of $168,000 receiving $7,440 a year in subsidies.
Written by urgent.news from The Guardian Australia's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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