Productivity Commission

Inquiry into Childcare and Early Childhood Learning

Comments from people who neither usenorwork in education and care services

Included are only those comments received by 5 September 2014,for which the submitted gave their approval for use of their comment by the Commission. Some comments have been edited to remove information which the Commission considered could enable identification of the submitter.

  1. The very first issue with childcare services is the availability of places. We have a 2y/o son that is currently on an endless number of waiting lists (public and private centers) and the only two options that were not suitable because of the long distance we had to drive to reach them. The centers should give priority to parents that don't have any extended family around to help them out. The second issue is the affordability of childcare services.

  1. I will soon have no choice but to use early learning childcare centres for my 2 youngest children. Thanks to the ridiculous school intake changes my 3.5 year old cannot start school for another year. This will naturally drive the cost up of childcare with me being a shift worker. I want my kids in there for some social interaction as playgroup attendance can be erratic due to work commitments. I honestly don't know how I am going to afford the costs though with mortgage, living expenses, bills, car payments and a shift working husband working 260km away.

  1. I have recently returned to full-time work and have a 7 month old child. I can only do this because my partner has taken leave without pay from his job for 5 months in the hope that we can find a childcare place soon. We are on waiting lists for about 15 childcare centres and have been told that our chances of getting a place anywhere before January 2015 are slim. This is going to have a significant impact on our family as it means that my partner and I will have to either take more leave without pay or change to part-time work in order to care for our child. It will impact on both of our career advancement opportunities as well as our combined family income.
All of the friends that I have spoken to with young children in Melbourne have had similar difficulty in finding childcare places. I don't know if it is a simple matter of not enough child care places to meet the demand, but it seems to be a widespread issue that has significant impacts on families as well as businesses. I know that the childcare rebates were introduced to increase the affordability of childcare so that more people would return to work, but this was done without ensuring there were sufficient childcare centres to support the increasing demand for places as a result of the rebate. More government investment / subsidies are urgently needed to encourage more child care centres to open / more people to get the appropriate training to address the shortage in childcare places.
I am lucky enough that I can afford to consider getting a private nanny to look after my child in the short-term if required, however I am concerned about the lack of regulation / information on these services, eg regarding contracts, insurance, education standards etc.
Overall, I think that something needs to be done urgently to address the lack of adequate childcare places and I hope that this inquiry is able to make some sensible recommendations about how best to do this.
  1. I am considering a job that involves shift work and potentially working away from home for short periods. because my children are 12 and 14 they are technically invisible for this commission. I will still need to access care for evening and o/night when they are alone but will be forced to pay for a nanny (which will cost excessive amounts of money). My children are independent before and after school (quite responsibly) but I do not plan on leaving them alone once dark falls at night. I would love to see childcare in any form to be tax deductable or a set amount paid per child (after providing receipts to ATO). Regardless of how much income you earn, a minimum amount should be available to families to make their own decisions. I can choose to take a job earning twice as much and pay more tax to the Gov, or elect to remain in the job I am in and pay less tax......
I love the idea of an au pair or nanny from o/seas who can provide some care - maybe an overseas student who comes with a working arrangement that benefits both myself, the Gov and them???
  1. My wife works full time in child care in Brisbane. She had 10 years experience in ESF kindergartens in Hong Kong and after 2 years here she has Cert 3 and is currently doing her diploma. Her C&K centre has just promoted her to a Group Leader position due to her very good performance in her work. My wife is 45 years old and her hourly rate is around $21 per hour. And by the way she is fluent in English, Cantonese, Mandarin and speaks a little Japanese, these language skills are very helpful in her job. Our 18 year old daughter has just finished Year 12 and does some casual work at KFC and her rate is around $15 per hour! This comparison of rates is really an insult to the experience, qualifications and dedicated hard work that my wife brings to her work at the C&K Centre. Child care won't be able to attract and retain enough high quality staff with these appalling rates of pay!

  1. I would like to discuss current HOME DAY CARE System. This HOME DAY CARE system is very easy to corrupt and exploit by Care workers and child owner (family).
Childcare Certificate III is available to buy without study a single word or sentence for some caregiver who doesn't read or write or speak English. Parents just bought this Childcare Certificate III and exchange or swap their children each other. While some parents I know have a job other than childcare, they still can claim tax payer money as home daycare worker every two weeks. This is the fact that going on with this home daycare system. I have witness who fraudulently exploit public money. This liberal government must have away to find a solution to this. Some childcare agencies and enterprises give them a tips when the council inspector will inspect them at their home so they can ready and pretend like childcare worker.
When some parents know other parents are making a lot of money with their children, they take away their children from caregiver to exchange with other parent who got similar number of children and will to swap with their children. When the caregivers don't want to transfer the children , some parent (children owner) get angry, and had badly argument with them. This Home Daycare system is causing problem, corruption and exploitation and fraudulent dealing with childcare agency and Childcare Training provider without proper oversight system in place by former Labor government.
This problem is very common in Somalia, Sudan and other small ethnic communities in Northern and Eastern , Western Melbourne.
This is a serious problem the government must find a way to solve this wasteful and corrupted spend of tax payer money.
I even want police would investigate this corruption and fraudulents.
When parents can buy their Childcare Certificate III and exchange their children with other, they tell Centrelink, buy some safety gear for their plugs at their home , this system become Open season for this parents. I can identify more than 50 families are doing this Home Daycare business, just to get public money without proper qualification for children.
The way public money spend on this way is absurd, where is accountability , who oversight this system, Are they actually working? How can they buy Certificate III in childcare and First Aid Certificate? This Childcare Agencies I know are run by African Australian. There must be away to solve this problem.
  1. Accessibility and affordability seem to be the biggest issues for the clients I work with. Even with subsidies child care can be a burden on people living on limited incomes. In the regional area that I work within there are limited options for childcare in some of the towns and what is available is only between 9 - 5 which is not useful for clients working outside of these times.

  1. I work two days and would like to work an extra day per week but am finding it hard to find a spot in a child care centre or find a nanny to look after my child 1 or 2 days per week. I rely on family help on the days that I work but that’s not always very flexible. Both family members are seniors with health issues and have other activities which sometimes fall on the days that I work, financial assistance for seniors would also help greatly. Because I live in an area close to the city centre there are very few childcare spots as most people that work in the city take up any places that are available. Priority should be given to people who live in the local area. It would also help if employers accommodated child minding facilities into their planning. I would also like to see better community links to families in the local area willing to assist with child care.

  1. Childcare and after school care are just not affordable for us and i have heard many other professional women complain about how much of their salaries are spent on expensive childcare and after school care. I dont believe the current costs encourage professionals to return to work however when i was a single parent it was affordable. This isnt right. I think it should be affordable for all families so that every parent can afford to return to work, either full time or part time. Stop penalising parents for being professionals as we worked very hard to get our qualifications and its a shame to not be able to afford to use them!

  1. my daughter recently turned 1 & I was due to return to work. we moved states when baby was 5 mths old & I put her name down on waiting lists in our new area. Was advised that the wait was 18 mths - that's right - would have had to get on a waiting list when I was 3 mths pregnant. ridiculous! in the end we had to use a nanny 2 days a week & hubby has one day off a week. there are no rebates for us, and we pay more than a day we would in a childcare centre! this should be a tax deduction for us as there are no other options apart from not returning to work. also - I hope the enquiry looks into who makes up the bulk of kids at childcare centre - as use of them is cheapest (in an out of pocket sense) for those in the community who do not work. priority for places should be for working mothers or students.

  1. I am writing to the Productivity Commission into Childcare and Early Learning on behalf of an integrated financial and farm consultancy business based in Swan Hill, Victoria. While the business has been established for more than a half century in Swan Hill, we also operate from a number of regional locations across Victoria and South Australia.
We feel it is important to express to the Commission our concerns regarding the shortage of available childcare services within the Swan Hill area.
We have a strong regional connection and dedication towards growing thriving communities. We are currently in an expansion phase to double our business size over the next year, and to do this we need to attract over fifty professionals to relocate to the area.
As a business, we are continually challenged by the fact that potential professionals cannot access childcare services and are required to wait a minimum of 3 to 6 months for a place within one of the few facilities located in Swan Hill. This fact alone is a huge deterrent for working parents who wish to relocate to the area.
For regional towns to continue to thrive and grow we need to ensure our region can provide high quality, flexible childcare services for the working community. Without these essential services, our ability, and the region’s ability to attract and retain talented employees will never be fulfilled.
  1. Should be mandatory that every child from birth be visited (in home or at a clinic) . At present this is only if and when child goes to preschool or ???
In N Z if one refused the Plunket Nurse, the public Health Nurse would call and could not be refused.
There needs to be this check.
  1. There has been a 23% increase in babies born in the ACT from 2012. All services, including childcare, has not caught up with this demand. Securing a spot for my son, even though I put his name down on waiting lists when I was 5 months pregnant, was near impossible. I didnt even want a place until he was 12 months, so I was on waiting lists 1.5 years in advance of needing a place. I was offered only 1 place (out of a possible 10 I put his name down at) and forced to accept it (even though it was not my preferred childcare). Yes it is also an expensive option - 2 days a week costs us $285 a fortnight, after the CCB. The centre is providing good care, but they don’t have much time for their administration.

  1. It seems to me that the problems in childcare nowadays are the same as those when I was using long day care and before and after school care when my children were young (eldest is now 27): not enough of it and very expensive.
Childcare should not be de-regulated. Childcare workers should be paid more.
Lack of affordable, accessible childcare is the biggest single barrier to women returning to the workforce.
You want to boost workplace participation and productivity by women? Affordable, professional, accessible and properly regulated childcare services are the key.
  1. I know of a childcare worker who recently left the industry to work in retail, as she was able to earn more to support her family. This woman is both educated and skilled in her field, with nearly 20 years experience, yet the recognition of the work that she does is not present in society, nor is it propagated by the Government. I do not have statistics to back me up, but I believe that prevention is always cheaper than fixing the problems that occur later. Our children need the best start in life, and our society and the country need us to be doing as much as we can to support their growth and development. Rarely is childcare actually just care any more - it really is early learning.

  1. Childcare centers are limited and so are the availability for spots. I live and work in Randwick and didn’t get a childcare place in this suburb even thoughi put their name down when they were few weeks old. My older son is starting school next week and all his time in childcare was a one in Matraville.
Randwick has four childcare places given priority for UNSW student and staff.One centre in the hospital priority for their staff.two preschools.both of them take children in from 3 years of age. Few more small centres which around.
KU in Randwick is a community preschool open from 9-3 and long days are 8 to 4.Compare to the other centres their fees are reasonable but the time and the days are given either 3 days or 2 days slots no kid can go full 5 days.This arrangement does not work for a working parent.
I believe the daily childcare fees are over the top.The availability and amount of the centers run are not enough.As a working mum this is very hard on my family.Childcare is the only option of care for the kids as a migrant here and those a lot like me.
I wish the government will include preschool (from age3) as a part of primary school and parent who wish for beforecare and aftercare pay as normal for that service.This will avoid a lot of hardship parents trying to find a care for their kids while they continue with working.And also when the kids are ready for kindergarten they are already familiar with the school and the teachers.As kindergarten is when they start learning and they don't have to have the anxiety of going to a new environment.
  1. My partner and I are expecting our first child in April and I plan on returning to work four days a week in April 2015. We have been surprised to find that waiting lists for child care centres in our area are generally two years and that to even get on a waiting list we are often expected to pay a $50 fee and tour the centre all before our child is even born. The tour times are also often during work hours and as we both work full time it is difficult to get the time to even get on the two year waiting lists. We have also been told we need to call the centres every few months to continue to register our interest. This all seems like a lot of effort for both parents and childcare centres over very long lead times.

  1. My Wife and I are about to have our first child in the ACT. In order to potentially have a spot in a child care facility we have to put our child (still 4 months away) down on waitlist. Some of these waitlist change a $100 fee just to get your childs name on the list. But this 'fee' does not give have any service attached or guarantee a position for you child. We are still required to ‘contact the centre monthly, to tell them we are still interested in a spot, or our names will be dropped off the list’.
Additionally, due to the limited positions in ACT child care the price is extensively highly on average then the rest of the country. This means that when factoring in the government rebate, our wages and the price of child care, both my wife and i will be working a one day a week each where we earn $30 dollar. For both of us, we would prefer to stay at home with our child rather then put them in day care for this amount.