Victorian suburbs where childcare costs are rising

Families in parts of the state are facing skyrocketing childcare costs while fees are falling in some areas.

Thousands of families across Victoria have been hit with childcare fee hikes during the pandemic.

But some parents in regional parts of the state and Melbourne’s Bayside have also had a win, with the cost of care falling compared to March 2020.

New figures also reveal more than 2500 childcare centres in Victoria have received a share of $99m in Commonwealth support during lockdown.

The average hourly cost of childcare services has risen up to 4.6 per cent across some parts of the state in the year to March 2021.

The cost of childcare has gone up for thousands of Victorian families.

Parents in Wellington, Moreland North, Melton and Bacchus Marsh were among the top areas where fees rose at least 4 per cent according to new federal Education Department data.

But the largest hike was in Wangaratta, where the annual cost rose a whopping $670 to $15,000 before subsidies.

If the maximum subsidy of 85 per cent was applied, parents would be forking out $2250 – $100 more than in March 2020 – if they had one child in care for 31 hours a week, 48 weeks a year.

However, analysis also shows fees decreased in Bayside, the Grampians and Gippsland East.

In these areas, the average annual cost of childcare services fell up to $223.

Childcare fees decreased in some parts of Victoria.

More than 220,000 families across Victoria rely on childcare services and are paying the third highest fees in the country.

Labor early childhood spokeswoman Amanda Rishworth said Victorian families were being crippled by the cost of child care.

“The Morrison-Joyce government has no plan to keep a lid on soaring fees,” Ms Rishworth said.

“Labor has a plan to make child care cheaper for 97 per cent of families, and also to get the ACCC to design a price regulation mechanism to keep costs down for good.”

Education Minister Alan Tudge said the average out-of-pocket cost in Victoria is just $4.05 an hour.

Mr Tudge said this was around 23 per cent cheaper than before the government’s child care package was introduced in 2018.

“Almost a quarter of Victorian families pay less than $2 per hour,” he said, adding Labor’s proposal would help millionaires.

Meanwhile, more than $234m in federal government support has been paid to centres across Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Mr Tudge said the payments had kept services open and ready to welcome back children once lockdowns lifted.

“Staff have been kept in work and families have had much needed fee relief during these lengthy lockdowns,” Mr Tudge said.

“Given each jurisdiction is easing restrictions at different rates, we will keep payments flowing until kids are allowed back to child care and back in classrooms.”

The Morrison government last week announced a move to cut the cost of childcare for families with two or more kids in care will be brought forward four months to March 2022.