Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As the Treasurer said, we want more Australians in jobs. In jobs there is dignity, there is a meaning and there is purpose. That should be open to men and women equally. One of the ways we are doing this is by protecting and improving child care. By lifting barriers we help reduce the disincentives for men and women with young families and help them to participate in the workforce to the full extent that they can.

When I had my children, 25 years ago, there were not these opportunities for people to have that support. That's why I welcome the fact that our coalition government has delivered for the people of Australia, for the families of Australia. When a family welcomes a baby it's an incredibly exciting and sometimes turbulent time, but to have the freedom of choice on how they care for their new family empowers parents—freedom to balance their new responsibilities without sacrificing their career or their precious time with their children. Perhaps a parent would like to undertake study or further training while caring for their children. Perhaps they would like to go back to work for a day or two a week as their children grow. This is an incredibly important transition time for young families, particularly as they develop and balance their career with their families.

I'm very proud of the commitment this government has made to preserving family choice. Our government has announced, starting on 1 July 2022, an increase in childcare subsidies available to families with more than one child aged five or under in child care. This will benefit about 850 families in my electorate of Higgins alone, and almost 61,000 families in Victoria. For those with more than one child in child care, the level of subsidy received will increase by 30 per cent to a maximum subsidy of 95 per cent of fees paid for the second and subsequent children. This is akin to saying, 'You can have the family size that you want.' This is fantastic news. These changes will ensure half of Australian families receive a 95 per cent subsidy for the second child and subsequent children. Secondly, the annual cap of $10,560 for families earning over $189,000 will be removed for all families.

We know what matters most to families, and that is their out-of-pocket costs. Our system targets the greatest level of support for families on low and middle incomes. This is so incredibly important. We have kept out-of-pocket costs low. Three years on since the introduction of our reforming childcare package, out-of-pocket costs are still almost $1 an hour cheaper, on average. They are $3.99, down from $4.87 in June 2018. A quarter of all families are paying less than $2 an hour for child care. Around 90 per cent of families are entitled to a childcare subsidy of between 50 and 85 per cent.

This investment builds on the $10.3 billion that the government is already investing in child care this year. Increasing the childcare subsidy for families with two or more children will help support the choices of working Australian families. This is a targeted investment to help make child care more affordable. It's vital for our economy and it's vital for families. But don't just believe me when I talk about this; let's look to the experts in the sector who have reviewed our recommendations, policies and subsidies. Let's look to KPMG and Alison Kitchen. She says:

We are very clear that this additional childcare support will significantly increase women's participation in the workforce, which our modelling has shown will be a major long-term boost to the economy.

I'm very delighted to say we're seeing the highest rate of women's workforce participation. We know our policies are working. I'm very proud to say that we can report today 61.7 per cent female workforce participation. That is the highest on record. This is in contrast to 58.7 per cent when Labor left office. Today, unemployment is down to 5.1 per cent and 987,000 jobs have been added in the last 12 months, 574,000 of them were for women. We know our policies are there and are supporting women.

Let's look at the Australian Childcare Alliance. They welcome the reforms to the childcare subsidy improving affordability for many families. Let's look to the Grattan Institute. They say:

Overall, the Coalition's policy is a helpful and well-targeted package that tackles some of the worst out-of-pocket costs and workforce disincentives. It will mean a real improvement for up to 270,000 families.

Let's look to Chief Executive Women. They said that they:

… welcomed the Federal Treasurer's funding announcement to increase access to childcare as an important step towards helping more women participate in the workforce.

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