17 July, 2023
Cheaper child care available now
LOCAL families are set to benefit from the Federal Government’s cheaper child care package, which commenced this week.
An increase in the Child Care Subsidy took effect from July 10 and will deliver more affordable child care for around 1.2 million families across the country, including 8,900 families in Blair.
Federal Member for Blair, Shayne Neumann, marked the start of the package with a visit to the C&K Ripley Childcare Centre to talk to staff and parents about the changes, and read a book to the children.
“I opened this centre in the booming Ripley area in 2019, so it was terrific to come back and see how the place has come along, and have a chat about the Government’s child care policy,” he said.
“Educators and parents I spoke to know that this is good for children, good for families and good for the economy.
“It means parents, especially mums, can work more paid hours if they want to. It means more money in the pockets of families and will make a real difference to family budgets.
“And it means more children can access the benefits of foundational early learning.
“We know improving access to early childhood education has long-term benefits for both children and parents. Kids will be starting their education earlier and parents will be able to go back to work earlier if they want to.
“If you already receive the subsidy, you don’t need to do anything to get the increased rate. It will apply automatically from 10 July.
“If you haven’t received it in the past, you can find out if you’re eligible and how much your family can save using the online calculator.”
Mr Neumann said the Albanese Labor Government was committed to delivering for local families in his electorate.
“We know many families across the Somerset region are doing it tough, especially with cost-of-living pressures at the moment.
“That’s why as well as cheaper child care, we’re also expanding the single parent payment, paid parental leave, and making paid parental leave more flexible for modern families.”
For a family earning $120,000 with one child in care, their childcare costs will be about $1,700 a year less than they otherwise would be. For families on a combined income of $80,000 or less, the Child Care Subsidy rate will lift to 90 per cent.
Families with two or more children aged under five in care will continue to receive the higher subsidy rate of 95 per cent for their second child and any further children.
The number of Indigenous children in early education will also be boosted by increasing the baseline number of hours of subsidised early childhood education and care families are eligible for each fortnight.
Families can calculate their Child Care Subsidy and find local childcare services by visiting www.childcaresubsidy.gov.au
