This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE federal government’s budget is boosting investment into early childhood education, supporting families and workforce, however it does not go far enough.
The 2023-24 Budget will see the government cut the cost of childcare for around 1.2 million families, enabling kids to reap the rewards of early education and the economy to benefit from resulting increased workforce participation, particularly amongst women.
The government will also pour $72.4 million into supporting early childhood educators, in an effort to increase both recruitment and retainment in the stretched thin sector.
The investment will be used to build and support skills for early childhood workforce, enabling educators to undertake professional development.
While also providing financial assistance to educators and teachers to enable the completion of the required practical component of a bachelor’s or master’s degree in early childhood education.
$34.4 million will be utilised for professional development, with $37.9 million used to provide financial assistance during the practical requirements of higher education.
As outlined in the October Budget, there will be a $4.6 billion increase to Child Care Subsidy rates from July this year.
While July will also see Parental Leave Pay and Dad and Partner Pay combine into a single 20-week payment.
With the new family income test of $350,000 per annum to enable nearly 3,000 additional parents become eligible for the entitlement each year.
This budget is also supporting greater wage equality through measures such as providing $11.3 billion to support a wage increase for many aged care workers.
While Minderoo Foundation’s Thrive by Five welcomed these steps towards universal early learning, the initiative stressed this year’s Budget hasn’t gone far enough.
“The success of the childcare subsidy increase will rest on addressing the current workforce crisis in the early childhood education sector, with greater respect for educators matched with immediate pay rises to ensure we have the best possible workforce to deliver early childhood education for Australia’s children,” said Jay Weatherill, director at Thrive by Five.
Though the government has invested in the early childhood education workforce in this budget, a wider package of reforms is needed to deliver a system that is accessible and affordable for all children, families and communities.
“Thrive by Five will continue calling for the urgent abolition of the Child Care Subsidy activity test and for the restoration of funding for First Nations-led and operated childcare centres,” added Weatherill.
