If you set out to design and fund a system of childcare that maximised the productivity and wellbeing of parents and gave children the very best start in life, modern “early childhood campuses” are not the model you’d settle upon.

Fully subsidised childcare, which has been available to all families since April, is set to phase out from July. The measure was designed to keep childcare centres operational and provide hip-pocket relief to workers unable to perform their duties remotely during the pandemic.