The sector fails both parents and staff because it relies on a mix of providers and is poorly subsidised, say experts. Here are their solutions
Childcare fees are rising faster than inflation, staff shortages are stretching centres to capacity, and one-third of Australians live in aLike primary education, early childcare is an essential service. But unlike schooling, early childcare doesn’t get funding directly from the government. Instead, it relies on subsidies that come via eligible enrolled families.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup But Australia’s spend is still below the OECD average, with the country spending 0.6% of its GDP on early childhood education and care for children aged five and under in 2019, compared with the OECD average of 0.8%.paints a picture of for-profit providers seeking to maintain profitability while balancing operational costs and inflation and offering higher wages to retain qualified staff amid high rates of staff turnover.
As a result, metropolitan areas with a high socio-economic advantage tend to have more childcare centres operating, while childcare centres are often few and far between in regional and remote areas. For example, Quebec’s universal childcare system operates on a flat fee payment system where parents pay C$8.85 a day .
If the government does not fund these sectors “on the balance sheet”, they must incentivise private operators to further invest in the sector, and allow them to generate a reasonable return, he says.
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