Labor Guarantees 3 Days Childcare And Plans To Establish $1 Billion Fund For New Services If Re-elected

During an election campaign that focused on families, Anthony Albanese promised to do away with the activity test that determines eligibility for government childcare subsidies and establish a $1 billion "building early education fund" that would also be established by Labor.

If Labor is re-elected, all families with annual incomes under $530,000 would have access to at least three days of childcare that is subsidized each week.

At a rally of supporters on Wednesday afternoon, the prime minister declared, "This is the biggest investment by an Australian government ever in new childcare services."

More than 160 centers "where they are needed most" would be built or expanded with the first use of the funds, in which the government would invest.

Additionally, it will prioritize setting up those centers in schools wherever feasible, much like a lot of private schools currently run.

The Productivity Commission was commissioned by the government to look into ways to increase childcare affordability and accessibility, and one of its recommendations was to abolish the activity test.

According to the research, which was published in September, the availability of early education and care for children should not be based on the activity levels of their parents. It also claimed that this practice was harming the families who most needed it and was not producing "significant" improvements in workforce engagement. 

Additionally, it said that early childhood education and care programs should be available to all families with children under five for at least three days or thirty hours per week, for 48 weeks of the year.

During the Brisbane event, the prime minister outlined Labor's long-term objective of establishing a universal early education and care system. He asserted that "every kid should have the right to quality, affordable early education" and likened universal daycare to Medicare, mandatory superannuation, and the National Disability Insurance Scheme. According to him, "these are the next phases in a nation-defining journey."

According to government modeling, around 66,700 families would gain from the plan to eliminate the activity test for the first three days ofcare; 19,500 of these families would earn less than $50,000, and another 13,800 would earn between $50,000 and $100,000. Eliminating the exercise test would also help over 6,700 families with incomes over $300,000.

Reference:
Labor Pitches $1bn Fund For New Childcare Centres, Minimum Three Days And Subsidised Care, ABC NEWS Australia