Calls for options in budget to ease pressure on parents
While the federal government has signaled that a universal system is unlikely to come to fruition anytime soon, parents are demanding more child care options.
Finance Minister Jim Chalmers will unveil his fifth federal budget on Tuesday night and while tax reform will become a major topic of discussion, people will also be curious about the government’s plans for childcare.
Parent and child advocacy group For Parents wants the current child care subsidy to be expanded to include alternatives to center-based care.
a petition The campaign, launched by the group in 2025, has collected more than 20,000 signatures from parents calling for the subsidy to be expanded to include care provided by grandparents, nannies, babysitters and co-working spaces that allow parents to keep their children nearby while they work.
“The idea that parents should put their children to work in an accredited childcare facility, we think a huge opportunity is being missed,” For Parents co-founder Cecilia Cobb told AAP.
“We have kids who are entering a child care pattern that the parents don’t want, but it’s the only option.”
The coalition has expressed support for measures that provide flexibility to benefit families, but has not yet formally adopted such a policy.
Although Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously stated that he would like to inherit universal childcare, Dr. Chalmers cautioned that the model is not currently affordable.
Ms. Cobb said the treasurer’s remarks were disappointing.
“The 2022 election pledge, which is still unfulfilled and brushed aside as a secondary issue, is not good enough,” he said.
“Childcare is not a ‘nice-to-have’ luxury, and most parents of young children see it as an essential factor in ensuring children can work.
Therefore, it should be seen as a necessity in the budget.”
Advocacy organization The Parenthood has called for the budget to increase paid parental leave entitlements to 52 weeks at a replacement wage rate and provide more support to make workplaces family-friendly.
With two in five families paying full price beyond the current support limit, the group says quality, affordable and accessible early childhood education should also be a budget priority.
“Families and educators are under pressure (and) this budget needed to show that that pressure would be alleviated rather than ignored,” said Georgie Dent, executive director of The Parenthood.
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