Labor open to early childcare relief amid soaring costs

Early Childhood Education Minister Anne Aly says Labor could bring forward its signature childcare policy amid soaring cost of living pressures in the economy.

Labor could bring forward its signature childcare policy amid soaring cost-of-living pressures, with Early Childhood Education Minister Anne Aly arguing workforce shortages could be ­addressed by improving pay and conditions.

A Productivity Commission review will be tasked with forecasting productivity gains from the policy and addressing structural issues in the sector, with Dr Aly expecting the review to get under way within six months and report by 2024.

After taking cheaper childcare as a core platform to the election, Labor will increase the maximum subsidy rate by up to 90 per cent for the first child in care. All families earning less than $530,000 a year will be eligible.

The policy is estimated to cost $5.4bn a year and help 1.26 million families. The government will also task the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to ­design a price regulation mechanism to regulate the sector.

Amid more aggressive rate hikes and rising inflation, Dr Aly said the government would take any opportunity it could to bring forward its childcare subsidy to help struggling families.

“If there is an opportunity to do that obviously the earlier we ­deliver our commitments the better because of the pressures that are currently facing families around the cost of living,” she said.

“It’s always good and better to deliver your commitments before the due date, especially in the current economic circumstances.”

Dr Aly said improving pay and working conditions in the childcare sector would be a way to ­address workforce shortages amid calls from parent groups for the federal government to urgently address a “staffing crisis”.

The childcare sector is facing dire workforce challenges, with job vacancies expected to surge to 39,000 by next year.

“Workforce issues for childcare are the same as the workforce issues for aged care and across the care industry,” Dr Aly said.

“You hear the aged-care workers going in with a passion for aged care but are leaving because of the conditions and the pay and all the other pressures that are on them, and it’s the same for childcare workers.

“How do we attract and retain workers and how do we improve working conditions across all sectors, whether its aged care or childcare and early learning?”

Dr Aly said the Coalition had failed to recognise the concerns families had for childcare costs, labelling it as the former government’s “greatest failing”.

“The election results show that this is an issue that voters care about, and that families care about,” she said. “I don’t know why a Coalition government didn’t get that message.”