Childcare centres demand month’s notice before the relief package is pulled

As the government prepare to pull back the free childcare package, centres have pleaded with officials for a transition period.

Childcare operators want at least four weeks’ notice to help parents transition back to the pre-coronavirus system of fees and taxpayer subsidies.

A government review of the first month of its emergency free care arrangements, released on Tuesday, has found almost all of the nation’s 13,400 childcare services are still operating.

But despite the review hailing the relief package a success, the free childcare could come to an end soon as it has left some operators making losses.

The survey found that before the funding package kicked in, attendance more than halved for three in 10 centres.

A further five in 10 had attendance fall between 20 and 50 per cent. The problems were even more pronounced for after schools hours care, where more than three-quarters of services had at least half their children pull out.

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Childcare centres are demanding at least four weeks notice before the Federal Government pull back the free childcare funding announced at the height of the COVID-19 crisis. Picture: AAP Image/Dean Lewins

Under the special arrangements, the government is guaranteeing childcare operators their taxpayer funding as it stood in late February – about half their usual revenue – plus the JobKeeper wage subsidy to those eligible. But they can’t charge parents the usual gap fee.

The review found about three-quarters of centres said this was keeping them financially viable.

Seven in eight services had applied for JobKeeper.

Of those who didn’t apply, about a third were run by independent schools or not-for-profits like Anglicare and weren’t eligible but can now access top-up funding.

Some services that were eligible found the wage subsidy didn’t cover many of their staff.

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Health Minister Natasha Fyles at the Nightcliff Family Centre. Picture: Che Chorley

In general, centres were able to meet the demand for places although some were doing so at a loss.

On average, attendance was less than two-thirds of pre-virus levels. Many centres worried about meeting the increased demand for places and having more children attend as the economy starts reopening.

They wanted a month’s notice before the system reverted.

Education Minister Dan Tehan said the government would keep a close eye on this.

“The four-week review into the package makes clear that we need to begin planning for increased demand for places as businesses re-open and more people return to work,” he said.

“The review suggests a need to consider how the relief package can support economic recovery, supporting parents to get back to work and study, and children’s early childhood education and wellbeing.”

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Minister for Education Dan Tehan said the four-week review highlighted demand for childcare would increase. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

The arrangements for child care will be scrutinised on Tuesday when education department officials front the Senate committee examining the government’s response to the coronavirus crisis.

Committee chair Katy Gallagher says senators want to find out how the crisis and the relief package have impacted the viability of services and whether families have been left without care.

“As the government is now flagging returning to the old system as of 28 June, the committee needs to understand how that will impact families who will be required to snap back to paying fees and dealing with the activity/income tests during this time,” the Labor senator said.