Productivity Commission charts course to three days of early childhood education

If the recommendations of a groundbreaking report are embraced, every child under the age of five would be granted the opportunity to participate in three days per week of top-notch early childhood education.

Every child under five years old will have access to three days a week of high-quality early childhood education and care, should the proposals of a landmark report be adopted.

But the recommendation, outlined alongside a suite of other measures submitted by the Productivity Commission to improve the accessibility and affordability of childcare services, faces sign-off from the federal government which is yet to commit to the changes.

The draft report into Early Childhood Education and Care, to be released on Friday, finds many families across the country are struggling to access services due to a range of factors including reduced availability, high costs and a lack of inclusivity.

Addressing these challenges would have significant benefits for children and for women’s labour force participation, the report finds.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously signalled that he wants bolstered childcare services to be a part of his government’s legacy. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

To achieve the goal of three days of high quality care, the federal government should step in to provide additional funding to communities with ‘complex needs’ or where childcare coverage is ‘thin’ to support the establishment and ongoing viability of services, the report said.

“Some areas of Australia have few or no early childhood education and care services. More funding will be needed to address these persistent service gaps,” productivity commissioner Lisa Gropp said.

Additionally, the paper recommends the federal government should modify arrangements for the Child Care Subsidy.

For families on incomes of up to $80,000, the government should increase the maximum rate of the Child Care Subsidy to 100 per cent of the hourly fee, up from current levels of 90 per cent for this cohort, the report recommends.

The ‘activity test’ – which requires both parents to be working to access childcare subsidies – should also be relaxed to only apply to families who wish to access more than 30 hours of care a week.

With the draft report now on Education Minister Jason Clare’s desk, the government will have to determine which recommendations are progressed. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Gass

“A child’s entitlement to at least three days of early childhood education and care a week should not depend on how much their parents work,” associate productivity commissioner Deborah Brennan added.

“Providing further support for lower‑income families will ensure that cost does not prevent children from accessing education and care.”

The Productivity Commission also makes a host of recommendations to bolster the childcare workforce which is currently struggling with acute skills shortages and is beset by retaining existing staff in the industry.

Responding to the report’s release, Education Minister Jason Clare said while there was more to do to establish a universal early childhood education and care system, the government had already made some progress.

“The Productivity Commission’s inquiry will help chart a course to a universal early childhood education and care system,” he said.

Originally published as Productivity Commission charts course to three days of early childhood education