PRIME MINISTER PLEDGES CAPPED FEES FOR CHILDCARE IN A NATION-CHANGING “BIG VISION” FOR AUSTRALIAN FAMILIES AND CHILDREN
27 February 2025 – Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s public commitment to a flat-fee childcare system where parents would pay no more than $10 or $20 a day will offer much-needed financial relief to families struggling with cost-of-living pressures.
The Prime Minister pledged early learning fee caps as a key part of his Government’s second-term plan, part of his “big vision” of affordable, accessible early learning for all Australian families and children. [1]
Jay Weatherill from the Minderoo Foundation’s Thrive by Five campaign said the Prime Minister’s support for a flat-fee model represented a significant victory for Australian families and children.
“The Prime Minister’s public endorsement of a flat-fee childcare system is a watershed moment for Australian families struggling with rising costs,” Mr Weatherill said.
“This model, where parents would pay no more than $10 or $20 per day, directly addresses one of the most significant financial pressures facing households with young children.
“The Government has already taken many substantial steps towards building a universal early learning system.
“Fee caps are the crucial next step to help make early childhood education and care truly accessible and affordable for all Australian families and children.
“This will change the lives of Australian children by ensuring they have access to early childhood education and care which sets them up for life.”
The Government has implemented and committed to several key early learning reforms, including:
- Funding a 15 per cent wage increase for early educators
- Establishing the $1 billion Building Early Education Fund to build or expand 160 childcare centres in areas of need, mostly in regional and rural Australia
- Guaranteeing three days of subsidised early learning per week for families
- Abolishing the “Activity Test”, which prevented 126,000 children, mostly from vulnerable backgrounds, from accessing early learning
“These measures have strengthened Australia’s early childhood education system, but the move toward a flat-fee model represents the transformative change families need,” Mr Weatherill said.
“A flat-fee system would not only provide cost of living relief but also enable more primary carers, who are predominantly women, to return to work should they choose to.
“Most importantly, it will enable many more children across Australia to access the life-changing positive benefits of access to high-quality early childhood education.
“Universal early learning is not just good social policy – it is smart economic policy that delivers returns through increased workforce participation and better outcomes for children.
“This is a significant win for Australia’s children, women’s economic equality, and our nation’s ongoing prosperity,” Mr Weatherill said.
[1] Australian Financial Review: PM pledges flat-fee childcare as part of second term ‘vision’
