Childcare centre fees rose 6.1 per cent on average between mid-2018,when the new system began,and the March quarter of 2020,the most recent quarter for which data is available. Family daycare fees rose 5 per cent over the same period.
But the benchmark hourly fee that subsidies are based on grows in line with the consumer price index;and since the system began,the CPI has increased just 2.7 per cent.
After the new childcare subsidy had been in place for three months,former education minister Dan Tehan issued a statement noting that out-of-pocket costs for parents were an average 11.8 per cent lower than under the old rebates.
By October 2020,out-of-pocket costs were just 3.2 per cent lower.
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Opposition early childhood education spokeswoman Amanda Rishworth said the rising cost of childcare combined with the $10,560 annual cap on subsidies for higher income families meant cost was a “very big barrier” for many parents.
“This type of data just shows that out-of-pocket costs are growing incredibly fast and are very difficult for families to cover,” she said. “I think certainly in the next six to 12 months we will see really the reforms come to nothing[in terms of savings].”