Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

that, I stress, provide an 85 per cent rebate with no caps on those rebates, and for those who are on jobseeker there's a 95 per cent rebate for child care—a program that this government reformed and ensured that people on lower incomes were getting bigger rebates. But the advice, as we worked closely with the childcare sector, was that when we move back, at their encouragement, to the usual system, to ensure that the demand can be accommodated in the childcare sector, the preference was that we move to a sustainment subsidy of 25 per cent of their fee base, rather than the continuation of the JobKeeper arrangement. That was seen as a better way of supporting more jobs and supporting the management and meeting of demand in the childcare sector. And I can only quote the Childcare Alliance, which said:

This Transition Payment is designed to deliver a more equitable outcome across all learning service providers … This Transition Payment ensures the survival of service providers as we navigate through a period of economic uncertainty … It also means that service providers can operate at their full capacity, offering the vital placement that their families need.

That is from the Australian Child Care Alliance. We have been working through the sector. We said very plainly that the temporary arrangements would not be permanent and, as we're moving back and getting the Australian economy back on its feet, moving ahead on that road forward, we will continue to provide the support that these sectors need and, where we can do better than the arrangements that we have in place, then we will certainly act in concert with the sectors to ensure we can provide that support. I'm not sure whether the Labor Party would prefer us to have a lesser arrangement, something that would provide less job security. We sought and have received an employment guarantee as a result of providing those transition payments to the childcare sector. It means that employees working across the childcare sector are supported by that employment guarantee. The service providers are supported by the transition payment and there are more places now available for those seeking child care across the country.

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