On both a federal and state level, major changes planned in childcare are expected to have implications for parents, centre operators and childcare workers.
Across the nation, the federal government is proposing for an increase in childcare subsidies to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for 1.26 Australian families with children in care. These changes are expected to take place to take place as early as July 2023. Subsidies will continue to vary for households depending on annual income – households with a combined income of $75,000 will receive a 90% subsidy, $500,000 a year will receive 7% and those earning $530,000 above will not be eligible for any subsidies.
In Victoria, the government has invested $9 billion to expand kindergarten services state-wide through their ‘’Free Kinder’ program. Under this program, from 2023 onwards, there will be a saving of $2,500 per child for three- and four-year-olds enrolled in participating standalone and long daycare sessions. Depending on service fees, the number of days attended and their Commonwealth subsidies, families will experience either significantly reduced costs or a free childcare program. Additionally, one free 15-hour program will be available to four-year-olds and one free 5-to-15-hour program will be available to three-year-olds in sessional services.
The planned State and Federal government changes to the childcare sector are likely to see significant growth in demand for places. Hence, players in the industry should be aware of the importance of attracting and training childcare workers as well as the possibility of wage increases due to demand.
With 2023 and the implementation of these changes fast approaching, how do you expect the rollout of these state and federal changes to occur? And how difficult do you foresee hiring childcare workers to be in the face of employee shortages?