ACA President’s Report

As 2023 progresses, a number of Federal Government initiatives are directly impacting our sector and drawing strong media and community interest.

Whilst there is a spotlight on the operation of early learning services, we see this as an opportunity to help inform the government, policy makers and decision makers of the complexities, challenges, and experiences within the early learning sector, that are often misunderstood or misrepresented.

Above all we need to ensure that any changes to government policy do not bring about unexpected consequences such as increased costs to families, or a destabilisation of the sector. In the context of an evergrowing workforce crisis, this is an enormous priority.

The upcoming changes include:

1 July Child Care Subsidy (CCS) changes

These will take effect via the Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Cheaper Child Care) Bill 2022. The maximum Child Care Subsidy (CCS) rate will lift to 90% for families earning $80,000 or less. This means CCS rates will increase for around 96% of families earning under $530,000.

We know that more affordable early learning services are likely to increase demand for places, which will put pressure on those services already struggling with adequate staff numbers.

New industrial relations laws

The new provisions under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 bring in new settings that will challenge our sector.

Key changes include multi-employer bargaining, which will make it easier for unions and other collectives to negotiate pay deals that cover multiple similar businesses.

ACCC Price Inquiry into the market for the supply of childcare services

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will examine how costs and prices differ across the sector and how various factors impact fees for families.

The inquiry is now well underway, with the ACCC now engaging with individual providers of all sizes, with roundtable discussions with invited stakeholders expected to take place in May.

Productivity Commission’s comprehensive review of the sector

The aim of this review as announced by the Labor Party in the lead up to the federal election is to implement a universal 90 per cent subsidy for all families (whether via the existing Child Care Subsidy model or some other mechanism).

The inquiry starts on 1 March 2023 with a final report to be provided to the Government by 30 June 2024.

We will contribute to the consultation process on behalf of our members.

Development of Federal Government’s Early Years Strategy

The Australian Government aims to develop and implement a whole-of-government Early Years Strategy to create a new integrated approach to our sector and develop a program of action.

The five major items listed above are the key policy reforms that ACA’s political engagement will focus on this year. There is a lot of work involved and we may call on our members for their important feedback over the coming months, to include your insights and experiences in our government submissions around these items.

We thank you again for your ongoing support and we look forward to advocating on behalf of our members and their families to ensure a sustainable, viable early learning sector.

Paul Mondo ACA President