Coronavirus Australia: Are you an essential worker to get free childcare?

The Prime Minister has announced free childcare for a million families, with the kids of essential workers a priortity. So do you qualify?

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has explained what an “essential worker” really is – and the answer is probably not what you’d expect.

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Mr Morrison announced that childcare would be free for around one million families as the coronavirus crisis escalates.

Priority will be given to working parents, vulnerable and disadvantaged children that need early education more than ever and parents with pre-existing enrolments.

But what is an essential worker, and how do you know if your family qualifies for the new package?

According to Mr Morrison, it seems like anyone still in a job could be covered by the policy.

“If you have a job in this economy, then that is an essential job, in my view, in terms of (the) running of the economy and it is important that all of those parents who have children, that they get access to the childcare and those facilities will be there for them in the many months ahead,” he said.

“ … what we will be doing is we will be ensuring for those parents who are still in that position where they are needing that childcare, it will be free.

“We will be putting in place support arrangements to childcare facilities, some 13,000 of them, to ensure they remain open and be there for their parents to ensure they can do what they need to do each day.”

It appears that most parents who have to physically report for duty will qualify. Picture: ABC

Mr Morrison said the new package would come into effect on Sunday night and had been designed to ensure “we can continue running Australia each and every day”.

Education Minister Dan Tehan also indicated that all workers were considered essential at the moment if they were required to “physically go to work”.

“Now, that could be anyone from a truck driver through to a doctor to a nurse – pretty much the Prime Minister says anyone with a job right now is doing something essential for someone who would rely on that business’s service, and that would include the public service as well,” Mr Tehan explained.

“So, they will be first cabs off the rank.”