Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to be able to ask the Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills, who is representing the Minister for Education and Training, a question on this very important matter. I'm glad to say that relief is on its way for families in my electorate of Robertson who struggle with the cost of child care. In just under two weeks the Turnbull government will implement the biggest reform to child care in 40 years. Across the country nearly one million families are set to benefit from our new childcare package. In my electorate, over 6,500 families on the Central Coast will be better off, with support targeted to those who work the most and who earn the least. There are a lot of different pressures faced by families, and this action will overhaul a broken childcare system to deliver affordable, accessible and flexible services for families and children. Families in my electorate need to be able to make decisions about their work and family with certainty. I know that this package is going to deliver just that.

What this potentially means for families across the Central Coast is that they might be able to take on an extra day or an extra shift or they might be able to volunteer more of their time with the certainty that their childcare needs will be properly supported. Eighty-five per cent of families using child care will no longer be subject to the dreaded annual childcare rebate cap, meaning that they can work as many days as they choose without exceeding their subsidy. Higher income families will see their annual cap increase to just over $10,000. We're also increasing the subsidy rate from around 72 per cent to 85 per cent, benefiting around 370,000 families earning less than $67,000. The new system kicks in on 2 July, and family budgets are set to be around $1,333 a year better off per child on average. We estimate that this package will encourage more than 230,000 Australian families to increase their workforce participation.

It's also important to note that our $1.2 billion childcare safety net is designed to support those who are not able to work due to health or other significant challenges. In addition to our childcare package, the coalition government's Early Learning Language Australia, Early Learning STEM Australia, Little Scientists and Let's Count programs are supporting our littlest learners. Recently, I invited the minister for education to visit my electorate on the Central Coast to tour Kindy Patch in West Gosford. It's a long day care centre that's taking part in the ELLA program and teaching it's young students Spanish. In fact, around 600 young students are taking place in the program at 20 preschools across my electorate. Programs like ELLA complement the coalition government's $870 million investment in preschools over 2018 and 2019. Around 2,000 preschoolers in my electorate will benefit from $2.5 million of that support from next year. Many families across the Central Coast will be hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year better off under our reforms, but they do need to make the switch to the new system. I'm pleased to be advised that already around 75 per cent of families have completed their online form to transition to the new system. I think that's outstanding. With two weeks to go, it's important that all families complete the online form to make the switch. I know how busy these families are, so I'm pleased that already so many have taken the time to switch over to the new package. I'd also like to pay tribute to the outstanding early learning services in my electorate for supporting these families in their transition.

Recognising that this is the biggest reform in child care for 40 years, can the minister please update the chamber on the progress of implementation of the coalition government's new childcare package commencing in just under two weeks, on 2 July?

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