The Federal Government’s new child care and early learning subsidy package commences on 2 July 2018.
We recognise that access to child care can mean the difference between working and not working and so our new package provides the greatest support to families who work the longest hours, and the greatest subsidy and financial support to the families who earn the least. These changes will give you and your family more choice and flexibility.
This new package will see the Federal Government increase its investment in early childhood education and child care by $2.5 billion, benefitting around one million Australian families, including 12,473 families on the Sunshine Coast.
Here is what the new package will do:
- increase the subsidy from around 72% to 85% for families earning less than $66,958 a year.
- remove the annual rebate cap for most families, which will free them up to work as many days as they choose without a looming limit on their child care subsidies.
- introduce an hourly rate cap to hold child care providers accountable for rate increases.
It is important to note that if you receive the Child Care Benefit or Child Care Rebate payment, you will need to transition to the new system – it will not happen automatically.
You can make the transition easily by filling out the form at the New Child Care Package Transition Portal – www.education.gov.au/ChildCare, or via your MyGov account. This will ensure you continue to receive your subsidy from 2 July.
Read my earlier article about the Child Care reforms here.