Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Seselja for that question. I know that he is a man with a great interest in support for families in the ACT and with a great personal commitment to families as well. This government is very proud of the fact that we are delivering the largest investment in early learning and child care that Australia has ever seen. A $40 billion package has been developed by this government—an additional $3.5 billion over previous estimates—to support child care and early learning opportunities for Australian children and families, helping more Australian families to be able to juggle and balance work and family difficulties and giving people the maximum opportunity to get back into the workforce, especially Australian women.

Our new childcare package is simpler, it is more affordable, it is more flexible and it is more accessible for the 1.2 million Australian families who access child care. Importantly, a significant part of the Jobs for Families package is the $246 million nanny pilot program which will commence operation next year. This is about offering a new, more flexible opportunity for Australian families who cannot access traditional childcare opportunities. It is about ensuring that families who live in remote and rural Australia or who may work shifts and are unable to access the hours of child care have the same opportunity as those families who access traditional childcare means. This two-year pilot will provide families an opportunity to access child care that meets their personal and specific family circumstances, and I trust and hope it will inform government decisions in the future and ensure that all future childcare arrangements are flexible for Australian families.