Coronavirus: Free childcare in $3bn family relief package
Scott Morrison says the $3bn package, which comes into effect on Sunday, is a key plank in his ‘unprecedented’ economic plan.
Almost one million families have been given access to free childcare in a COVID-19 package expected to cost more than $3bn, delivering a lifeline for essential workers and protecting jobs among 13,000 providers of early childhood education.
Scott Morrison said the package, which comes into effect on Sunday night, was another key plank in his government’s “unprecedented” economic measures, many of which would “snap back” to previous arrangements once the pandemic was contained.
Ahead of national cabinet signing off on commercial rent relief measures on Friday, the Prime Minister said Australians must be prepared to embrace a “new normal”.
“It’s no longer about entitlement — it’s about need,” he said. “There is a snap back to the previous existing arrangements on the other side of this. And so there is an intensity of expenditure during this period.
“And then we have to get back to what it was like before. And then we have to deal with the burden that will be carried out of this period of time.”
The radical overhaul of the childcare system will be in place for at least six months to support families through the COVID-19 crisis, with most childcare educators expected to be eligible for about $1bn through the fortnightly $1500 JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme.
Education Minister Dan Tehan said, under the plan, the government’s existing means-tested Child Care Subsidy arrangements were no longer in place and all Australian families would be able to access care.
The relief package, which was delayed to ensure it linked with the government’s $130bn JobKeeper scheme, will extend to parents using after-school and holiday care, where providers receive the childcare subsidy.
From Monday, the government will begin paying early childhood education and care providers 50 per cent of their fee revenue — up to the Child Care Subsidy hourly rate cap — based on how many children they had in their care in the last two weeks of February.
The weekly instalments to providers, due to start before Easter, will replace the subsidy and were expected to cost the government $1.6bn over three months, meaning the final package could cost more than $3bn over six months.
Mr Tehan said children of essential workers, vulnerable children and families with existing childcare spots should be prioritised but any family that could find a placement would pay nothing for six months.
Most childcare workers will begin receiving the $1500 fortnightly JobKeeper payment because providers’ annual turnover will be reduced by 50 per cent, making them automatically eligible for the scheme.
Government data shows 945,340 families access childcare, with more than 1.3 million children in centres across the nation.
The Australian understands states and territories finalised their commercial rent support packages on Thursday night.
Federal, state and territory leaders are also expected to debate wider social restrictions at the national cabinet meeting, with some states pushing for the closure of shopping centres. Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein on Thursday announced greyhound and horse racing would cease for the next four weeks.
Early Childhood Australia chief executive Samantha Page said for families who wanted to keep their children at home, there was “no longer a terrible choice between paying a gap fee and losing their place at the service”.
Ms Page acknowledged some services that were part of not-for-profit or local government entities with other activities attached had not seen their turnover reduced by more than 30 per cent, as is required in order for businesses earning up to $1bn to access the JobKeeper payments.
Goodstart Early Learning, Australia’s largest childcare provider with a turnover of more than $1bn, said it was still concerned about the future of its 665 centres and 16,000 staff. To be eligible for the JobKeeper scheme, a business turning over more than $1bn must prove a cut in revenue of at least 50 per cent.
“While the 50 per cent of fees offer (from the government) is of course welcome, we don’t yet have sufficient detail to understand how this will operate,” a Goodstart Early Learning statement said.
“We have repeatedly explained to the federal government that unless Goodstart is given access to the JobKeeper scheme, we will not be able to keep our centres open — not for essential workers and vulnerable children now, and not when the rebuild begins.”
Liz Christie, director of Goodstart’s long daycare centre on Brisbane’s Adelaide Street in the CBD, described the announcement as a “massive relief”.
Ms Christie said the centre normally cared for more than 200 children a day, aged up to five, but that had dropped to about 60.
“We’re lucky the staff that walk through our doors every day put a massive smile on their face because they know it’s difficult for the families that are still coming in,” she said.
Many of the parents worked in essential roles, including as doctors, nurses and supermarket managers, Ms Christie said.
Additional reporting: Nicola Berkovic
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