This subsidy was launched with great fanfare. The response? It’s complicated

This subsidy was launched with great fanfare. The response? It’s complicated

Childcare fees continue to impact the career choices of parents,although costs overall decreased last quarter following subsidy changes.

  • byMary Ward

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Three-year-olds should have access to 30 hours of preschool:Gillard report

Three-year-olds should have access to 30 hours of preschool:Gillard report

No Australian jurisdiction offers 30 hours of preschool a week for three-year-olds. But a royal commission led by Julia Gillard has found all children benefit from two years of high-quality care before they start school.

  • byNatassia Chrysanthos
Super-size me? The plan to move mothers’ groups and baby check-ups out of the suburbs
Exclusive
Healthcare

Super-size me? The plan to move mothers’ groups and baby check-ups out of the suburbs

Any new parent will be familiar with the small offices at which child health nurses host baby check-ups,help with breastfeeding and host mothers’ groups. But could bigger be better?

  • byHamish Hastie
My memory is less like a catalogue and more like a hoarder’s garage

My memory is less like a catalogue and more like a hoarder’s garage

There are some gems in there,some functional items you’d expect,and a ton of bizarre and totally random odds and ends.

  • byKerri Sackville
Childcare fees grow faster than inflation,wages:ACCC report

Childcare fees grow faster than inflation,wages:ACCC report

Even after government subsidies,out-of-pocket costs have risen by 7 per cent for centre-based childcare over the past four years.

  • byRachel Clun
How $10-a-day childcare became reality in Canada - and what Australia can learn from it

How $10-a-day childcare became reality in Canada - and what Australia can learn from it

Canada,which uses Australia as an example of what not to do in childcare policy,will introduce cheap flat-fee childcare after a 25-year experiment showed the benefits.

  • byRachel Clun
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‘A different level of flexibility’:Au pairs push to be part of childcare solution

‘A different level of flexibility’:Au pairs push to be part of childcare solution

The group representing au pairs wants them to be considered as part of the mix of early childhood education and care options.

  • byRachel Clun
‘I loved books as a child. Never did I imagine that I would become a writer’

‘I loved books as a child. Never did I imagine that I would become a writer’

Though I was a journalist,I saw myself as sharing facts and information,never as a ‘serious’ author.

  • byJessica Rowe
How Dolly Parton has sparked a reading revolution in central western NSW

How Dolly Parton has sparked a reading revolution in central western NSW

The babies of Gilgandra are falling in love with reading,and it’s thanks in large part to country music star Dolly Parton.

  • byCatherine Naylor
Big change to our economy will come at a cost,but only if we care
Opinion
Jobs

Big change to our economy will come at a cost,but only if we care

The proportion of our workforce employed in the care economy has gone from 2 per cent in the 1960s to 10 per cent today. About 80 per cent of these workers are women.

  • byRoss Gittins
Ruminations on a passing cow
Opinion
Column 8

Ruminations on a passing cow

Weighing up birds in flight.