Australian childcare costs to ramp up

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDAug 8 2010

From now on Australian childcare fees will rise to up to $33 per child per day. This is to ensure that childcare centres employ more and better qualified staff, a survey of 170 NSW centres has found.

It states that these centres, which supply 12,878 childcare places, said fees for children aged under two would have to rise by 30 per cent - or $20.56 per day - from next year to pay for extra staff. Fees for two- and three-year-olds will increase by 38 per cent - or $23.27 per child per day - as a result of the changes and some centres said their fees would be rising by as much as $33 a day. For a family using full-time care, the cost increases could amount to $2,970 per year.

The survey was conducted by Guild Accountancy and it found that 36 per cent of centres will reduce the number of childcare places they offer to minimise the impact of cost increases. This means getting a childcare place would become more difficult. Childcare NSW, which commissioned the survey says that the effort of the government is a good one but there should be an increase in childcare subsidies. Spokeswoman Vicky Skoulogenis said, “We need childcare rebates to increase by 15 per cent…I don't think the Government has really taken this very seriously - it could be powerful tool to win the election.”

According to Australian Childcare Alliance president Gwynn Bridge, “This has to be an election issue because these fee rises will be rolling out in the next term of government.”

The fee rises from the survey are five times higher than the average $1-$4 fee rise the Government predicted would flow from the changes. The survey claimed that 50 per cent childcare rebate will cover half of any fee rise but the survey shows mothers of half the children attending the 170 centres do not receive this tax rebate because they do not work and need to bear the full costs. At these rates the staff to child ratios for under twos will be cut from one carer for every five kids to one carer for every four kids from next year. The ratio of one carer for every eight two to three year olds will be cut to 1:5 in 2012. Centres will also have to employ a fully trained early childhood teachers.