Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Hansard source

It's right that two-thirds of early childhood education is provided by for-profit providers in Australia today. I want to reassure families that the vast majority of those providers are meeting and exceeding our national quality standards. We are concerned in this discussion about safety and quality, about a small minority of providers who we believe are putting profit ahead of child safety. That is exactly why we have a bill before the parliament right now to allow us to withdraw Commonwealth childcare subsidies from those providers who put profit ahead of safety. More broadly, this government wants to see more quality not-for-profit early learning. That's why we have a billion-dollar fund to invest in just that.