WEL notes the expenditure in the 2008 budget for child care . The budget provided higher rebates for child care
However WEL believes major changes are needed in the provision of adequate and affordable child care:-
Centres and Services should get a proportion of an agreed budget directly from Government with certain conditions as follows:-
* agreeing to peg fees at an acceptable level
* trained and qualified staff
* demonstrated demand for services
* income tested supplement for parents.
The evidence suggests that funding parents results in higher fees. When demand outstrips supply, the usual restraints and competition in the market do not occur so we need to consider alternative strategies. Centres to be funded must involve parents and link with health and other education services. WEL considers funding should be partly to parents and partly to centres.
The 2005 report of Australian Bureau of Statistics survey of child care shows that the demand for family day care has eased from 29,100 in 2002 to only 17,700 in 2005. Demand for after school care has risen by 27.4 percent and demand for long day care has risen by 14 percent to 52,900.
Scroll to the bottom to send an email to your politician.
See members views on Child Care and Preschool Education in the Discussion Forum under News & Events.
The contradictions in Government's policies are spelt out in an article by Professor Peter MacDonald: "Stymieing a plan to keep parents in the workplace".
Child care is of major importance in this push to get women into the workforce.
Read about the problems for Business and child care.
And the problems of child care for parents who have a child with disabilities are detailed by a WEL member.
WEL National Policy on Child Care can be found in the section of "About WEL".
The 2011 report Fathering in Australia among couple families with children shows that fathers still spend much less time than mothers on domestic work and child care.Sun Herald journalist Elissa Dherty reports on Juggling Work and Families (15/2/2011), reporting that modern mums bear the brunt of work-life stress becaause men are still not pulling their weight with the housework.
While mums increasingly juggle work and family, fathers are still not doing their fair share of household chores, according to the report.
Worn-out working mums are more likely than dads to suffer work-family tensions, said an article in the Australian Institute of Family Studies journal Family Matters.
The paper, "Persistent work-family strain among Australian mothers", said almost 30 per cent of working mums experienced "strong tension" between work and family responsibilities. "Australian mothers in recent decades have greatly increased participation in the labour market. Fathers have not increased their unpaid household work to a matching degree," it reported. "But without equal sharing ... mothers will inevitably feel the work-family tension more keenly."
Mums are likely to have the toughest time managing the balancing act when the youngest child is aged between six and 11. A Melbourne University study last year found 66 per cent of women believed they did more than their share of the housework.
Tax Deductions for Child Care.
Parents must be able to claim childcare - including nannies - as a tax deduction if Australia is to increase the number of women in the workforce.
That is the directive from a coalition of high-ranking female executives pushing the federal government for changes they say are needed to lift the numbers of women in paid employment and their ability to seek promotion. Sydney Morning Herald, 24 Sept. 2011.