New child care package

Thursday, 7 June 2018

From 2 July 2018, the Federal Government’s new child care package will take effect. The Government is making a lot of changes, including rolling two benefits into one new subsidy.

From 2 July 2018, the Federal Government's new child care package will take effect. The Government is making a lot of changes, including rolling two benefits into one new subsidy.

Parents and carers will need to complete a new online application form and pass the new eligibility requirements in order to receive any subsidy after 2 July.

Penrith Mayor Cr John Thain said there is a lot in this package that will be great for working families.

"Most working families will end up with access to more care under this package, and that is a really good thing," Cr Thain said.

"However, I have genuine concerns that some parts of the new package will result in the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children being further disadvantaged and cut-off from the education they need," Cr Thain continued.

"There's a wealth of research that shows children from disadvantaged and vulnerable families benefit most from high quality early childhood education, and yet for some reason this group will lose out in this package.

"All children are entitled to quality early childhood education to set them up for life-long learning and success, regardless of their parent's circumstances. I am deeply disappointed and disheartened that the most vulnerable Australian children will ultimately lose out in this package," Cr Thain said.

For those families who do qualify for subsidised care under the new package, there are also important changes to the hourly rate cap. From 2 July, all care must fall under the hourly rate cap or it won't be fully subsided.

That means anyone paying over the cap will have to pay the difference out of their own pocket. There are a lot of providers whose rates exceed the cap, so parents and carers should check that now.

Council owns and operates 31 centres and preschools across the Penrith Local Government Area, which offer competitive fees, highly qualified staff and leading edge teaching methods and programs.

All of Council's centres have fully subsidised places available now.

Information contained within this news release was correct as at Thursday, 7 June 2018.