The logistics of making changes to the childcare subsidy system mean it’s nearly impossible for parents to receive fast-tracked relief on fees.Credit:Justin McManus
Since then,the economic focus has shifted tothe importance of women’s workforce participation as well as how to alleviate the ongoing cost-of-living pressures.
At the end of the jobs and skills summit last week,Finance Minister Katy Gallagher declared that “women nailed it” and gender equality was now front and centre in policymaking. But in the same press conference,she made it clear the government was sticking to starting the childcare changes in July,not earlier.
There are two problems with bringing it forward:first,the timing of legislation and subsequent technical work,and second,the desperate need for more early childhood educators.
The previous changes to childcare funding – scrapping the annual cap on subsidies for higher-income families and increasing the subsidy rate for younger siblings – were before the last parliament for seven weeks.
It then took seven months from the passage of the legislation until families with two children in childcare started to see higher subsidies – and that was six months earlier than originally slated. The then-government was able to speed up the behind-the-scenes work in part because the legislation was able to pass “quite quickly”.
The changes before that – which completely redesigned the subsidy system – took more than a year between the laws passing and becoming reality for parents and providers.
So,logistics. The childcare legislation isn’t slated for introduction this week and even if it is put to parliament next week,at best it could only pass the lower house. The following sitting of parliament isn’t until budget day on October 25 and after that week,the Senate won’t return until the back half of November.