Working families on Gold Coast who need vacation care set to lose out as ‘free childcare’ stops

The Federal Government will cease its ‘free child care’ scheme.

WORKING families needing vacation care and Gold Coasters looking for child care for the first time will lose out under the Federal Government’s decision to scrap “free child care” from July 12.

The child care subsidy scheme is set to return to pre-pandemic arrangements, with families having to restart co-payments. JobKeeper payments for early educator employees will also stop from July 20.

Jane Saxton Early Childhood Services provides care for Gold Coast families in Beenleigh and Ms Saxton said she was still trying to dissect all the information but that it was “interesting that tradies get a boost while those who work with our youngest and some of our most vulnerable citizens are the first to lose their JobKeeper”.

Jane Saxton, a family daycare operator, with Theodore Sharp, 3, says she can’t see why people who work with “some of our most vulnerable citizens” will lose JobKeeper first. Picture: Tertius Pickard

This month a $688 million HomeBuilder program was revealed, offering one-off cash payments to eligible owner-occupiers and first-home buyers.

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Lucy Cook, owner of Amaze Education, runs 11 childcare centres, including three on the Gold Coast. She said the Child Care Relief Package (CCRP) should have ceased before Queensland’s school holidays because it’s going to make vacation care problematic. “We estimate we will not be offering 430 of our places per day across five Outside School Hours Care Centres. A further one will be closed due to lack of viability from the restrictions,” she said. “This is going to majorly impact those families who have returned to work with all the children going back to school who will now need care over the holidays.”

Lucy Cook runs Amaze Education, which has three childcare centres on the Gold Coast. Picture: Richard Gosling

“The other people impacted are those families needing to start care for the first time as they are now required back at work or have finished maternity leave. Most providers have stopped enrolling during CCRP restrictions because they are struggling to provide care for their current families without charging fees.

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“We had all told our new families they had to hold off for the last eight weeks and could start in the first week of July. This will now be delayed a further two weeks.”

Ms Cook said the activity test exemptions that gave 100 hours of care for those affected by COVID-19 meant some families would get more subsidised days. She also praised the new Transition To Work subsidy that allows people returning to work access to 95 per cent fee relief; it will be in place for the next six months.

“Free childcare” is ending on July 12.

Australian Childcare Alliance head Brent Stokes said providers were taking a “wait and see” approach because they weren’t sure how many families had lost their jobs and could not afford to return children to care and this would be more evident when JobKeeper payments stopped.

Ashlee Thomas, a career mentor for women at Next Stop Employment, said childcare should be a right not a privilege and had a huge impact on women’s participation rates.

“Before we go back to a broken system we should at least look into an alternative fair and affordable approach for all,” she said.

14 GOLD COASTERS SPEAK OUT ABOUT “FREE CHILDCARE” STOPPING

Betty Walters: “It was a good break financially but the money needs to go back to the childcare now. They are the ones taking care of our children. In all this time they haven’t received any help for cost associated with the running of the centre.”

Nicola Saussey: “I was looking at putting my child into care for the first time from July and I couldn’t enrol him as the centre said they needed the free childcare to end before they could accept new enrolments. It served its purpose for families but now we need to move past it.”

Victoria Jones: “I have a child in care and have seen how stressful it has been on the workers with most teachers being dropped down to part time. It will eventually affect the quality of care our children receive.”

Gia Pinferi: “It should be finished. We all managed to pay for childcare before COVID-19. Many of us paying childcare before all these discounts and rebates as well. The free childcare was fabulous as an extra precaution but now it’s just taking advantage.”

Gold Coast parents are divided on the cancellation of “free childcare”.

Lori-Jessica Sargeant: “I think the subsidy sucks, I’m going back to uni and it will cost over $500 a week if my two kids need to be in every day. But the free childcare wasn’t financially viable for the centres.”

Dee McGuire: “Childcares are suffering so it does need to change however when you’re on JobKeeper and at work 3 to 4 days a week and paying $150-200 for childcare from a JobKeeper payment of $650 after tax I think people will struggle.”

Siobhan Dos Santos: “Pulling the jobkeeper from them is going to put centres back to where they were in March as parents pull their kids out again as they aren’t back at work and the centre doesn’t have the JobKeeper money to pay casuals any longer.”

Maggie Keys: “I have two kids in childcare 3 to 4 days a week and am happy to start paying again. Both my husband and I work full time so we really depend on the childcare staying open hence we are happy to support them financially.”

Zara Collins: “They should follow other countries that support working parents and make daycare free all the time as a single mum, student and casual worker. I basically work to pay for childcare so I can get a study day or two to get assignments done. It’s a struggle.”

Childcare co-payments resume from July 12 for parents across Australia.

Chloe Brown: “I’m a mumma who needed to go back to work during the pandemic and after the subsidy change which meant my child still doesn’t have a placement. I’m looking forward to them having fees return it means we will have a place.”

Renee King: “Unfortunately for us we are significantly down in income so for us we are looking at pulling our son out now. It is what it is.”

Dani Elle: “Scott Morrison should have directed money towards childcare centres to help the economy, rather than give $25,000 renovation grants to rich people who can already afford renovations.”

Krystle Stafford: “My daughters kindy costs me $360 a fortnight and while I know it’s not as much as others might be paying my partner lost his job due to COVID-19 and is a Kiwi so isn’t entitled to ANY government assistance. We also had to close our business.”

Karley Hardinge: “If we don’t begin charging in July, my centre won’t stay afloat. I’m a mum as well as an educator although the break from paying fees was nice, it’s time to bring back payments.”