REDUCED OUT-OF-POCKET EARLY LEARNING COSTS WELCOMED, BUT GREATER REFORMS NEEDED TO ENSURE FAMILIES ARE SUPPORTED
26 October 2023 – Minderoo Foundation’s Thrive by Five campaign has welcomed the reduction of out-of-pocket early learning costs for families according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) latest report on the consumer price index (CPI).
CPI data for the September 2023 quarter has revealed that out-of-pocket early learning costs for families across Australia fell by 13.2 per cent. The drop comes after the introduction of higher rates of the childcare subsidy (CCS) in early July 2023 [1].
Minderoo Foundation’s Jay Weatherill said that the latest CPI figures showed that the Federal Government’s measures to help families with escalating early learning costs were working and that the increased CCS rates were having a meaningful impact.
“Australian families saw their out-of-pocket early learning costs go down this past quarter thanks to concerted efforts by the Federal Government,” Mr Weatherill said.
“Higher rates of the childcare subsidy, which were introduced in July, have had a meaningful impact in helping bring down costs for families.
“This shows that government policies and measures can make early learning and care more accessible and affordable for families.
“The Federal Government deserves credit for helping bring down early learning costs for thousands of Australian families.
“The Government must now be more ambitious in its plans to ensure that every child across Australia has access to high-quality, affordable and accessible early learning.
“Despite the CPI data, we know that families right across the country are still struggling with the high costs of early learning.
“Data from the ABS’s Labour Workforce report, along with findings of bodies such as the ACCC and the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce, highlight that a lot still stands in the way of ensuring equitable early learning access.
“Government policies such as the Childcare Activity Test remain major barriers for families trying to access affordable early education.
“The Federal Government must scrap the Activity Test and continue to build on its efforts at making early education more affordable for all families.
“Additionally, the Government must also ensure that the early educator workforce is well supported, remunerated and recognised for the vital role they play in helping the nation’s children get the best start to life.
“Without a strong and resilient workforce, no measures aimed at improving early learning access will be fruitful.
“Australian families and children deserve to have access to affordable, high-quality early education and the Government must now make greater strides to continue the good work it has done to drive down out-of-pocket costs.”
