Stuart Henry (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Management System and Other Measures) Bill 2007 is an important government initiative in meeting its commitment to Australian families and their childcare needs. These amendments to the family assistance legislation will assist in creating a new online based management system, the Child Care Management System, or CCMS.

This system will be a significant investment in improving accountability and in the provision of information across the childcare sector. It will standardise and simplify the current, largely paper based, childcare benefit administration processes and significantly reduce the time in which payments are made to approved childcare service providers. It will also improve and enhance the management of childcare benefit entitlements for families. It will reduce the administrative burden on childcare service providers; however, it will also represent a significant change in the way service providers interact with the Australian government—a change for the better. This new system will be progressively introduced through childcare service providers from 1 July 2007 for up to a period of two years across Australia.

Child care has changed dramatically in Australia over the past 20 years or so since the early 1990s, when most centres were operated by not-for-profit organisations or, in some cases, by local government organisations. Child care was most often provided by a community childcare centre which operated as not for profit and was often run by parents for parents. An example of childcare facilities available at that time includes my family’s thoroughly good experience with our two daughters at the Citiplace Child Care Centre located adjacent to the Perth city railway station. This excellent centre was developed by the city of Perth, providing an excellent service with wonderful, caring staff and an excellent manager, with care and facilities second to none. Indeed, some of these highly proficient staff are still working at the centre today and maintaining their excellent level of care and support. This centre aims to provide quality care for children and a happy and secure environment. It recognises that each child has individual needs, and every endeavour is made to accommodate those needs. Its programs take into account the different developmental levels of the children, and an environment is created to allow each child to explore in their own time. Carers at the centre and families all work together to achieve the best outcomes, recognising this essential service is a great support for families and working parents.

However, back then demand for places in childcare facilities was not as great because, as I am sure members on the other side of this House will appreciate, we had the highest levels of unemployment, the highest levels of inflation and mortgage interest rates over 17 per cent. It was interesting to hear the great lament by the previous speaker, the member for Shortland, about the challenges. The reality is that 11 years ago Labor had opportunities to do things for child care and parents and they did nothing. It is only since 1996 and the Howard government that things have changed a lot for the better as far as families and parents with children in child care are concerned. Now in Western Australia unemployment is less than 2.4 per cent, and lots of families in my electorate of Hasluck are in the workforce and looking for childcare places for long day care, outside school hours care, occasional care and, in some cases, in-home care, which is now much more readily available. The Howard government has been the best friend working families have ever had in ensuring positive choice for families in balancing work and family commitments by providing an increasing level of financial support to underpin these choices.

I am sure that many Hasluck and Australian families will remember the Labor government years. I have already mentioned the high levels of unemployment and even higher interest rates—they were a disaster for Australian families. It should also be noted that childcare fees rose at twice the rate under the then Labor government, and, as my wife and I appreciate only too well, Labor did not provide a childcare benefit or the childcare tax rebate as the Howard government has since done. Mothers and families did not have any options under Labor on returning to work or getting support for child care. Child care was a very expensive exercise, with those who gained employment achieving very little after paying childcare fees from their weekly pay packets, in many cases leaving families questioning the value of the exercise.

If we look at the Howard government’s record, we see significant and progressive improvement since 1996, with spending on child care increasing threefold and with budget estimates that a further $11 billion will be spent over the next four years. The number of approved childcare places has doubled from some 300,000 in 1996 to over 615,000 in 2006. Across Australia there are over a million children now placed in child care with some 100,000 to 140,000 childcare vacancies existing across Australia, which is a great testament to the Howard government’s program that ensures places are available for those who need them.

Let us look at what else this government has done for families. On average, families receive over $2,000 per annum in childcare benefit, working families can claim up to $4,211 per child under the childcare tax rebate and on average families are also receiving $8,300, including supplements, in family tax benefit. We also have the non means tested maternity payment or baby bonus of $4,100 on the birth of a child. By any measure these are very significant increases in benefits and support for Australian families.

The next step in locking in the gains since 1996 and ensuring the future for families is to introduce the new electronic Child Care Management System, a new computer based system designed to bring the processing of claims in enrolments into the much more efficient computer age. Currently this information transfer is undertaken by way of the post. It is both time-consuming and inefficient. In this day and age the current system is not an efficient use of time for parents, especially those parents who work and place their children in child care, or for childcare service providers. For approved childcare providers, communicating with the Family Assistance Office and Centrelink by mail is both a lengthy and costly process. Replacement with a user-friendly, integrated computer system will be greatly beneficial to all parties. The new computerised system ensures prompt turnaround as well as up-to-date information on childcare placement vacancies. The Child Care Management System is also a significant investment in improving the supply of information and accountability across the childcare sector.

The government has recognised the need for better management of information. In October last year my parliamentary colleague the Hon. Mal Brough MP, Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, announced that the Howard government would invest $73.2 million to develop the national Child Care Management System. It was clearly recognised that there needed to be a more efficient way to reduce the red tape and lengthy delays. The new system will bring all approved childcare providers online and at the same time will standardise and simplify childcare benefit administration, enabling the lodgement of childcare benefit data electronically. It will also enable the childcare centres to focus on their role of providing quality of care rather than having to undertake the onerous administrative requirements of working out how much childcare benefit each family will receive.

This national childcare computer system will provide the best information on childcare supply and usage that has ever been available across Australia for families, childcare service providers and the government. It will also provide support to the Child Care Access Hotline. The hotline provides parents with information about local services, types of services and government funded assistance. In July last year it was expanded to provide parents with childcare vacancy information. Childcare services will now have simplified online arrangements for reporting to the hotline on a weekly basis, ensuring that vacancies are listed much quicker, which is a huge benefit for the childcare centre and families wishing to use the centre. All approved childcare services will provide information online to give weekly updates on childcare usage and fees directly to the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and to Centrelink. Families will have direct access to the Family Assistance Office about their childcare usage and childcare benefit payments made on their behalf to their childcare services provider. In the future, this information will be able to be accessed online, making it much more efficient for working parents, as they will be able to access an online monthly statement.

The new system is designed to reduce the administrative burden on childcare service providers. It represents a significant change to the way in which services currently interact with government. Australian government approved childcare services and many Australian families will benefit from the improvements made possible by the Child Care Management System. The new system will be progressively rolled out across childcare services from 1 July. The Child Care Management System will also provide the basis for the payment of the childcare benefit to approved childcare providers. Approved childcare service providers will need to comply with the Child Care Management System computer and reporting requirements. This will mean that approved providers will have appropriate computer software and staff trained to use the program to ensure correct childcare information reporting to the Family Assistance Office.

If a childcare provider wants to become an approved provider and offer reduced childcare fees on an ongoing basis to parents, they will be required to use the Child Care Management System. The method of paying childcare benefit to providers who in turn reduce the childcare fee is the main method of delivering the childcare benefit. The new Child Care Management System also changes the way childcare benefit is paid to approved providers. At the moment, approved childcare providers receive childcare benefit in advance—bulk payments quarterly—and they in turn provide reduced childcare fees to eligible parents. In future, the childcare benefit will be paid to approved providers weekly in arrears for the child care used in their centre by eligible parents for the past week. The new system will require far more regular and ongoing communication between childcare providers and the Family Assistance Office about childcare usage, using the Child Care Management System.

The new computerised system will provide information about childcare usage or lack of usage, ensuring the government’s childcare planning and budgeting needs reflect the true nature of the demand for service in specific areas. This up-to-date data is important as it will allow the government to make better informed decisions about allocating unused childcare places to areas of need, providing a useful picture of the needs and vacancies in approved childcare centres. The Family Assistance, Social Security and Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (2005 Budget and Other Measures) Act 2006 enables the government to change or move the placement of unallocated childcare places to areas of greater need. This enables greater flexibility for all—families and service providers alike.

An enrolment advance payment will be made to approved childcare centres when they enrol for child care a child who is eligible for assistance and can provide a customer reference number. This enrolment advance is recovered when the child leaves child care. The Child Care Management System will ensure that childcare benefit payments are more efficient and are accurately tied to the actual childcare use by a parent, reducing overpayments by human error or fraud. The childcare benefit entitlement for individuals will be calculated by the Family Allowance Office and advised via the Child Care Management System to the childcare provider. This will be a saving for providers, enabling them to get on with their important core business of providing high-quality, stimulating, safe child care.

The Howard government strives to ensure that Australian people have as many choices and options available to them as possible. For those people who wish to or have to place their children in child care, it is never an easy decision, so it is important that the level of care is of a high standard and that there are adequate childcare placements available in the areas that people require. For those parents who rely upon the services of childcare providers, it is important that the arrangements be simple and efficient. The recent budget announcement took into consideration the needs of the working family and has provided a range of measures to assist parents. An additional 13 per cent increase in funding to the childcare benefit will take effect on 1 July. This is a 10 per cent increase on top of the CPI and will help parents. Bringing forward the payment of the 30 per cent childcare tax rebate will mean that parents and families will not have to wait to claim it directly from the government. This change will mean that some 700,000 families will receive a one-off payment of up to $8,000—being two years worth of the rebate. This measure alone will cost $1.4 billion.

Another important initiative is the $43.8 million over four years to assist families in regional and remote areas. This assistance provides childcare facilities operating in areas of need with financial support that is necessary for them to remain viable. The additional $71.3 million over five years to assist an extra 3,000 children with high-support needs to be included in high-quality child care each year will be of great benefit to many people—and many people in my electorate. I know of a number of families within my electorate of Hasluck who are very keen to ensure that there are additional placements available to children with high-support needs. Having spoken with many of them about the difficulties they face each day, I am very pleased that the government has increased the placements by an additional 3,000 places per year. This initiative will have a huge impact on not only the child attending the centre but also their parents, siblings and families. Good government is about responding to the needs of the people and ensuring that new ideas do not negatively impact on those we are trying to assist—unlike when Labor changed the funding regime in the mid-nineties, negatively and negligently impacting on the community childcare not-for-profit sector.

It is anticipated that the new Child Care Management System will commence in January 2008. However, given the rollout over two years to such a large group, it was decided to pilot the system to enable a smoother transition. The Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs will provide support and assistance, including training, information and the all-important help-desk support. Those taking part in the pilot program will have been chosen from voluntary nominations from childcare service providers.

This bill also provides compliance measures aimed at strengthening the relationship between the government and the childcare sector, ensuring that the childcare needs of Australian families are met. There is projected funding of around $1.7 billion per annum in childcare benefits, which is most commonly delivered to families through their childcare service provider. Approval of childcare services to participate in the childcare benefit program is based on their compliance with certain conditions. This compliance system is now being strengthened. Incorporated into the system are new compliance measures which will help to minimise the risk of incorrect payments and fraud. It will enable these problems to be detected as soon as possible should they occur. The new system will help to increase approved childcare provider awareness of their obligations and the consequences of noncompliance with those obligations.

The introduction of a civil penalties scheme will assist the strengthening of the compliance system. The penalty scheme provides for the imposition of a pecuniary penalty on a service that contravenes a civil penalty provision. This bill also sees the introduction of a new obligation on a service to provide information in relation to the childcare access hotline on time. The delivery of up-to-date information on time to the hotline means that families will be able to be fully informed of any vacancies at childcare services in their local area. This reporting requirement through the hotline also allows for this information to be used to assess the childcare placement needs in different localities and areas, greatly assisting families in locating vacancies.

This bill streamlines the system by introducing the latest technology in electronic information systems, bringing both efficiency and effectiveness to an expanding service provision. It is another important step forward in ensuring Australian families have easy access to assistance to provide further choice in maximising both work and lifestyle opportunities. I commend the bill to the House.

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