Perrottet continues budget splurge with $1.4bn childcare commitment

The NSW Government will offer families childcare subsidies over the forward estimates to help ease the cost of living crisis and boost the return of women to the workplace.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet. Picture: David Swift

The NSW government will offer families $1.4bn in childcare subsidies over the forward estimates to help ease the cost-of-living crisis and boost the return of women to the workplace.

Just a day after committing $5bn over the next decade to ­create an additional 47,000 childcare places, Premier Dominic Perrottet and Treasurer Matt Kean continued the big spending ahead of the 2022-23 state budget.

Over the next four years, families with three, four or five-year-olds attending a community or mobile preschool will be eligible for up to $4000 a year; while families with four and five-year-olds attending preschool in a long-daycare setting will receive up to $2000 a year.

For families with children in Department of Education preschools, the equivalent of five days a fortnight of affordable preschool relief will be provided for all children.

“Preschool is where the building blocks for lifelong success are established so it is vital that quality early childhood education is more accessible for families in NSW, no matter what their circumstances or where they live,” Mr Perrottet said.

“We’re committed to ensuring families across the state have a brighter future and less pressure on the hip pocket.”

Mr Kean underlined the cost-benefit ratio of investment in childhood education, saying every $1 invested delivered a $2 boost to the economy.

A further $376.5m will be ­invested over the forward estimates to provide children with developmental checks, while digitalising the “baby blue book” – the personal health record given to parents on the birth of their child.

With the state election nine months away, the near $1.8bn adds to Mr Perrottet’s budget splurge. He has already committed $4.5bn for hospitals and health services; $743m for end-of-life care; and a $750-a-year toll rebate for drivers.