The draft report has been released today as part of the Productivity Commission’s major review of Australia’s childcare system.
It recommended streamlining government assistance into a single subsidy with means and activity-tested per-child payments to be paid directly to childcare providers.
The commission also suggested the government pay 90 per cent of costs for families on less than $60,000 a year and tapering down to 30 per cent for families bringing in more than $300,000.
National Secretary of United Voice David O’Byrne welcomed the simplified funding model, but slammed the Commission for not addressing wages further.
“We don’t think the draft report goes anywhere near enough to resolve the challenge that faces the early years sector,” he said.
“We know that 180 early years educators leave the sector every week. They leave, not because they want to, but because they have no choice. The wages are not enough to sustain a decent life.”
Mr O’Byrne said a government which was “serious” about the sector would supply further funding.
“It’s not only important for children, it’s also crucially important for the economy,” he said.
“That is, workforce participation of women in the community. We know that every dollar you spend in the early years is a significant investment in the future of our community.”
Paid parental leave scheme
The draft report also recommended that some money be diverted from the Abbott Government’s proposed paid parental leave scheme to the childcare system as an alternative way of getting more mothers into the workplace.
But Assistant Minister for Education Sussan Ley has rejected the commission's criticism of the scheme, saying childcare policy and paid parental leave should be considered separately.
“Childcare is about looking after your children when you go back to work,” she told ABC television.
“Paid parental leave is about having children in the first place, having those vital six to twelve months to bond with your baby.”
Mr Abbott's signature policy has been widely criticised as too expensive and generous, with working women to be paid up to $50,000 to have a baby.
Ms Ley says she backs the scheme, which even some coalition MPs would like to see scrapped.
“It is the right policy for the modern woman, in a modern workplace, and a modern generation,” she said.
The Productivity Commission also recommends extending government subsidies to qualified nannies and other in-home care.
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