Hume MP Angus Taylor said more than 6100 families in Hume will be better off from the government’s child care overhaul.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Taylor said the new child care package – which comes into effect from 2 July 2018 - would provide the greatest hours of support to families who work the longest hours, and the greatest subsidy and financial support to families who earn the least.
“We’ve taken action to overhaul a broken system - and families using child care in Hume should be reassured that relief is around the corner,” he said.
Mr Taylor said child care fees grew at about twice the rate of the economy last year, according to new data from the Department of Education and Training.
The Turnbull Government’s child care package includes:
- Increasing Australia’s investment in early childhood education and care by $2.5 billion so that almost one million Australian families benefit
- Introducing a better targeted activity test to ensure taxpayer subsidised child care places are targeted to those who depend on it in order to work, or work more hours.
- Delivering the highest rate of subsidy to those on the lowest income levels and more hours of subsidy to those who work the most. The base subsidy will rise from around 72 per cent to 85 per cent for the more than 370,000 families earning around $65,000 or less a year.
- Low and middle income families, earning up to around $185,000, will no longer be limited by an annual $7613 cap on the amount of subsidised child care they can access – that’s more than 85 per cent of families using child care and means families won’t run out of subsidy mid-year as happens now. Families earning more than around $185,000 will also benefit from an increased cap of $10,000.
A $1.2 billion Child Care Safety Net will support vulnerable children and families who need extra support
More information on the new child care reforms can be found at: www.education.gov.au/childcare.
