Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment Participation and Childcare) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Shortland and all the members who have made contributions to this debate. This bill contains important amendments to the family assistance administration act and other legislation in order to improve accountability in the childcare sector. The government and, indeed, families right across Australia know just how important this is. We know that, and we were reminded by the overnight collapse of ABC Learning in 2008, which was entirely unprecedented. The government's quick and decisive action at that time meant that 90 per cent of those centres continue to operate for Australian families today. Had that government support not been provided, almost 100,000 families right across Australia might have been faced with the prospect of having to find alternative care arrangements with little or no notice at all. Since 2008 we have introduced a range of new measures to better ensure the financial viability of childcare providers, including strengthening approvals processes and requiring additional notification of closures of centres. We want to make sure that what happened in 2008 with ABC never ever happens again.

The amendments in this bill today, the Family Assistance and Other Legislation Amendment (Child Care and Other Measures) Bill 2011, represent a part of our commitment to improving accountability within the childcare market and protecting the market from unscrupulous operators. This bill broadens the powers of the secretary to refuse the approval of a childcare service for the purposes of family assistance law. Combined with other measures, this will give the Australian government greater scrutiny over operators and their past practices, including the power to look at whether service operators are fit and proper persons. The bill also enables the Australian government to offset and recover payments owed by one childcare service to another childcare service operated by the same operator. These measures will also enhance the government's ability to deal with phoenixing, where an operator who accumulates debts exits and then re-enters the market under a restructured company. Under current arrangements the government can only consider the exact operator and their history in the industry. We need to strengthen this.

Importantly, this bill will also support the government's $273.7 million investment in the National Quality Framework. The changes to protected information will support the National Quality Framework by enabling the Commonwealth to share information on childcare services with state and territory regulatory bodies. This will benefit childcare services by not requiring them to provide the same information to more than one body. This framework, endorsed by COAG, will improve educator-to-child ratios so that each child gets more individual time and attention. It will introduce educator qualification requirements so that our educators are better able to lead activities that inspire youngsters and help them to learn and develop. It will include a new rating system so parents know the quality of care on offer and how to make informed choices, and it will reduce the regulation burden so services only have to deal with one regulator.

We are doing this because we know from years and years of international research that the first five years of a child's life shapes their future, health, learning and social development. We want to make sure that that future is bright for Australian children. We know how important this is. We also know that, of the long day care services that received an accreditation decision between 1 July and 31 December last year, 25 per cent of those services failed to ensure that potentially dangerous products, plants and objects were inaccessible to children. Twenty-nine per cent failed to implement effective and current food safety and hygiene practices. Twenty-eight per cent failed to ensure that toileting and nappy-changing procedures were positive experiences, and 20 per cent did not act to control the spread of infectious diseases and maintain records of immunisations. This government believes that Australian children deserve better. As a government, we believe that we can and must do better when it comes to the safety, wellbeing and early learning of our children.

In summary, this bill makes a number of amendments that will improve transparency of the childcare industry and protect families from unscrupulous operators, and I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Administrator recommending appropriation announced.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.

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