Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the childcare sector was on the brink of collapse with large-scale withdrawals of children from child care. On 6 April the government put in place a temporary childcare package because the sector was facing unprecedented challenges. The Morrison government was quick to respond. It introduced a temporary childcare relief package to ensure that childcare services were available for essential workers. This is because we were committed to ensuring that the sector remained viable and that, importantly, childcare centres would still be available after the pandemic.

The childcare relief package was an outstanding success, and an early review demonstrated how successful it was, with 99 per cent of the 13,400 services operational as of 8 May. I should repeat that figure for the Labor detractors who have nothing better to do than tear down the work the Morrison government is doing to support Australians—99 per cent of services remained viable thanks to the Morrison government's relief package. A second survey showed that child attendance levels increased to 74 per cent in the week of 11 May, with families and businesses reporting an increase in demand as people began to return to work.

Our government has been responsive to the childcare sector. We've listened to parents who've told us they want childcare places and services expanded to offer more care. And we're continuing to invest in children as well as workers and parents in the sector as a whole. Just yesterday, on 10 June, the Ballarat Courier reported that there was such a demand for child care that one centre had a waiting list of 30 families and they receive daily inquiries about the availability of childcare. So much so, the centre is building another facility 2.5 kilometres down the road.

So, what is the next step? Well, because of Australia's success at flattening the COVID-19 curve, our life and economy are starting to return to normal. The temporary childcare package, which includes free child care, will end on 12 July. But we are not abandoning this important sector. We're not abandoning the children, the parents or the workers; nor are we abandoning the childcare centre owners. We're replacing one type of support with another type of support. And, importantly, it includes a safety net for the families that need it.

From 13 July, the government will continue to support families by providing more than $8.3 billion a year through the childcare subsidy to help parents with childcare costs. We'll provide about $2 billion for childcare subsidies in the coming quarter. Why? Because our children are important. And we'll continue to support Australian parents.

Our government will also provide support to childcare businesses in addition to paying the childcare subsidy with a transition payment of 25 per cent of fee revenue in the reference period. This will also be paid from 13 July. The childcare subsidy for parents is means-tested to ensure that those parents who earn the least will receive the highest level of subsidy. As a family's income decreases, the amount of subsidy they receive increases to the point where 85 per cent of their childcare fees are covered. It's good news for families because, as their income decreases, they will pay less out of pocket for child care.

Under the childcare subsidy, out-of-pocket costs were less than $5 per hour per child for the parents of more than 70 per cent of children in centre based day care in the September quarter last year. Out-of-pocket costs were less than $2 per hour per child for the parents of around a quarter of all children in centre based day care. After close to two years, our childcare package still has lower out-of-pocket costs—3.2 per cent lower than they were two years ago. The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia has welcomed the transition package and confirmed that it will support childcare centres to remain open for more children.

The childcare package has a record of supporting increased activity amongst women, whether it be working, training, studying or volunteering. In fact, in November an Aruma survey of parents found that our childcare package had increased activity levels for women by seven per cent. The number of women reporting more than 48 hours of activity in a fortnight rose from 56 per cent prior to the introduction of the package to 63 per cent in November last year.

We're introducing a fee cap as part of the transition package that commences on 13 July. It will support families that struggle with their fees by requiring childcare services to cap fees until 27 September. Our government will also ease the activity test until 4 October to support eligible families whose employment has been impacted as a result of COVID-19. These families will receive up to 100 hours of subsidised care per fortnight. This will assist parents to return to the level of work, study or training that they were undertaking prior to COVID-19 and ensure continuity of care for their kids. For example, if a parent who was working full time in February is today working part time because of a reduction in available shifts, the family is eligible for 100 hours of subsidised care per fortnight. And because their family income has been reduced, they will receive a higher rate of subsidy for the days their children are in care. They will receive more child care and they will pay less for their child care this coming quarter.

If you're looking for more evidence that we're getting it right, the Early Learning and Care Council of Australia has said that the childcare subsidy activity test will mean that those impacted by COVID-19 will be more able to access and afford early education. We're calling on families who are experiencing reduced hours of activity or reduced income to update their details so that they do receive a higher subsidy rate than they were previously.

The childcare package has a generous safety net that's designed to provide higher subsidies to families who are experiencing financial difficulty. The additional childcare subsidy is available for families who are under temporary financial hardship and provides increased childcare fee assistance to those families who are under financial stress. A loss of income, loss of employment or inability to pay childcare fees are just some examples of circumstances for which families may be eligible for this support. Eligible families can receive free care for the maximum 100 hours per fortnight. The additional childcare subsidy is also available for families who are transitioning to work. For example, families on jobseeker would be eligible for a subsidy of 95 per cent up to the hourly rate capped fee. This would mean that a family might be paying 60c per hour for care where the service charges a fee of $12 per hour.

How successful have we been in addressing challenges that parents are facing? Well, the Australian Childcare Alliance president, Paul Mondo, has said:

We would like to wholeheartedly thank Minister Tehan, the Treasurer and the. Prime Minister for listening to our members and recognising the importance of ensuring that all Australian families have access to high-quality learning services.

This is more evidence that we are supporting Australian families and businesses with fair and equitable support during the transition back to business as usual. Our transition package ensures that government support is accessible to every childcare service.

We are continuing to look after childcare workers. In a sector with approximately 200,000 employees, around 120,000 employees have been receiving JobKeeper payments. Our new transitional package will reach the additional 80,000 workers, most of whom are women. When we are replacing one type of support package with another type of support package, it's important to look at the combination of packages. From 12 July, childcare services would receive approximately $2 billion in childcare subsidy and $708 million in transition payments, along with the means-tested parent contributions. JobKeeper will cease for the childcare sector from 20 July, and the employment guarantee with the transition package will be in place from 13 July. When Labor says we're turning our backs on this sector, I can only suggest that they need to do more homework. It's not just the organisations that represent childcare businesses that have praised the Morrison government's response; the praise has also come from business owners.

But we should also look at the Labor government's record when they were last in office. Childcare fees increased by more than 53 per cent and their compliance record was woeful. They did fewer than 500 checks and failed to cancel or suspend a single service, while our record is 3,900 important compliance checks, with 317 cancelled and 34 suspended services. Simply put, we care enough about this sector to pay attention.