Background
Childcare in Australia reflects a market system, providing an attractive business opportunity, as the Commonwealth guarantees up to 50% of the organisations’ income. However, markets and childcare are a poor combination, with the price of quality services increasing, leaving individuals of low socio-economic status (SES) with poorer quality education (Phillips, 2009).
Currently, childcare in Australia encourages inflation and “does not incentivise women to work” (FactCheck, 2015). The Commonwealth provides 3 primary payments, The Childcare Benefit (CCB), The Childcare Rebate (CCR) and the Jobs, Education and Training Childcare Fee Assistance (JETCCFA). Further details are in Appendix A.
The Coalition’s Proposition
The Coalition
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This essentially doubled the price the consumer was willing to pay. In a supply and demand market, this allowed the supplier to charge more, leading to hyperinflated prices.
The ‘benchmark’ price means that the Commonwealth will pay 50% of the cost of the childcare, up to a certain amount. For example, with a benchmark of $10/hour, parents would receive no more compensation for $30/hour childcare than for $20/hour care.
Changes for low-income-earners (LIEs)
Those earning under $65,000/year may receive up to 12 hours of childcare/week with no activity test, reduced from 24. The Childcare subsidy for these LIEs will be 85% of the fee, or the benchmark price – whichever is lower.
Changes for middle-income-earners (MIEs)
For MIEs, the childcare subsidy will be either 50% of the fees charged, or the benchmark price – whichever is lower.
There will be no cap on the amount of subsidies MIEs and LIEs can receive.
Changes for high-income-earners (HIEs)
HIE’s cap will increase to $10,000 per child, from $7,500 received through the CCR. Their childcare subsidy will be either 50% of fees, or the benchmark price – whichever is lower.
Introduction of Nannies
The Government proposed an In Home Care program, permitting Nannies to deliver services to those whose needs do not suit traditional childcare centres, such shift-workers and those in remote areas.
Budget
$7 Billion was spent on childcare between 2014–2015. The proposed
When discussing the costs of daycares, a parent must consider preschool programs and traditional daycares. Most preschool fees are comparable to the high prices charges by daycare centers, although few preschool cost as much as full day care for an infant. All of this depends on where you live and the quality of the preschool. The average costs range from $4,056 to$ 11,678 per year, according to the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. Traditional day care centers can be less what you would pay for a nanny but still can add up. It also depends on where you live and the quality of the daycare. Most centers bill monthly, even though some will give you a discount if you agree to pay the entire year’s fee in the first month.
Firstly, According to Payscale, the average hourly pay rate for a daycare employee is $9.53 per hour. This is very similar to the wages that many single working parents are earning. Furthermore, many young women find that leaving their children in the costly care of others so they can afford childcare costs is absurd. Companies such as Walmart and McDonald’s earn billions of dollars in
Families' reliance on childcare has risen significantly over the past 30 years. In 1993, 9.9 million children under age 5, needed care while their mothers worked (Bureau of the Census, 1995). More than two-thirds of all infants receive nonparental child care during their first year of life, with most enrolled for about 30 hours each week (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 1995).
However In June 2015, the government introduced the Childcare Bill to bring in an extra 15 hours, totalling 30 hours of free childcare for employed families of 3 and 4 year olds.
Employers elect to build and run their own child care facility at the workplace. This options is the most convenient and attractive for employees. In one study, at two separate facilities, the child care centers reported long waiting list, even if the cost was higher or the same as the local economy. Furthermore, employees who could have used a family provided care, at substantial less cost, chose to utilize the on-site care (Connelly, Degraff, & Willis, 2002). This option has all of the benefits of the FSAs and a few added benefits. However, this option comes with some inherent
Weather it is a single parent or a two-parent family the excessive cost of child care can be a daunting task. The average cost of putting one child in a daycare for a year is over $6000.00. For many families, this causes a financial strain and it doesn’t pay for both parents to work so one stays home with the children. With one income coming in it puts families under the poverty guidelines. One option for low income families is Head Start. Head Start is a free Early Childhood program funded by Health and Human Services for low-income children and families that serves close to “1 million children by 2011” (Head Start Program). Children ages from 3-5 that attend Head Start receives three meals a day, dental and nutrition needs, and prepares
Research from Child Care Aware of America found that in 2013, the average yearly cost for center-based care for infants was higher than the average annual tuition and fees at four-year public colleges in 31 states. The lack of on-campus childcare and reduced government funding, means student parents have to make their own childcare
The approach to the research on the topic of onsite childcare benefit is based on scientific findings. Using scholarly articles what were peered reviewed, and analyzing the findings of experts within the field. In addition, a focus group was formed comprising of members of both staff from the Rockville and the main campus. All levels and categories of staff were represented. The aim of the focus group is to communicate with their category of workers and articulate their concerns as it relates to the establishment of an onsite childcare service.
As I read in “Time spent in Child Care: How and Why Does It Affect Social Development?” Department of
Participation in daycare in also linked with better academic performance in elementary school.” (120). At the same time, it has been noticed that children attending daycares are more aggressive and disruptive than children who stay at home. The author adds, however, that their negative behavior stays “within limits” and it is not clear if such behavior is a result of being at daycare or being influenced by parents at home after day care (Rathus 121, 122). Another interesting research was conducted by a group of Universities with a purpose to see if subsidized child care has any positive outcomes in rural areas, which have a limited access to the programs. They have discovered that government agencies failed to acknowledge the importance of this program in rural parts of the country. But, they deserve to have a greater attention due to much lower wages and increased poverty levels. “Over half of the children in rural areas lived below 200% of the poverty line compared to 37% in urban areas.” (De Marco 385). The research has shown that subsidy-use had positive results on the kids and families in rural
The cost of childcare has become a major issue for parents. Families struggle to pay their daycare expenses, but need to put their children in care because they need to work. Some families are limiting the number of children they have because they will not be able to afford the daycare costs. The government should develop framework so that all families who need to have child care can have access to quality care, but at an affordable cost.
According to Rachidi (2016) in the article, Childcare assistance, and nonstandard work schedules, childcare can account for one-third or more of household expenses for working, low-income families. Childcare cost
The cost of child care is extremely expensive and varies by geographical location. As reported by the National Association of Child Care Resources & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), the standard childcare expense is estimated around $11,666 annually ($972 monthly); yet, it depends on where you live and so, rates vary between from $3,582 to $18,773 annually here in the United States, that is, $300 to $1,564 monthly cost. For instance, if you have child ages 3-5 years old (preschooler) and live in most expensive states, such as New York or Massachusetts, the childcare would approximately cost over $8,000 annually ($667 monthly). Additionally, in San Francisco and Boston, the reported monthly cost would be $2,000 for infant care. While living in the
The Commonwealth facilitated childcare by introducing standardized fee relief for children in uncommercial center-based long day care centers in 1984 (Social Policy Group, 1997-98). Fee relief was the essential avenue through which the Commonwealth funded childcare places and the purpose was to help low-income families or median income households with the expenses of quality child care services (Social Policy Group, 1995). From 1985 to 1987, more childcare services were provided, for example, approximately 11000 new center-based long day care places and 5650 family day care places were afforded (Social Policy Group, 1997-98). The Childcare Assistance ensured that parents on low and middle incomes could be benefited due to its strictly targeted nature (Social Policy Group,
In Australia’s Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), the Commonwealth has responsibility for social security while state governments have primary responsibility for education (Press & Hayes, 2000). Thus, policy and funding matters related to different forms of ECEC services rest with different tiers of government (Press & Hayes, 2000).