Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises:

(a) the vital role early childhood education and care (ECEC) educators and teachers play in supporting young children's early learning and development;

(b) properly valuing and recognising the ECEC profession—including through fair wages—is critical to reversing attrition and growing the workforce;

(c) paying ECEC workers fairly is a crucial step in charting the course to a truly universal ECEC system; and

(d) the Government's historic announcement for a two-year, 15 per cent ECEC worker retention payment for ECEC workers, phased in from December 2024;

(2) notes that:

(a) one year on, the Government's cheaper child care reforms are delivering real cost of living relief to household budgets;

(b) the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's child care inquiry found that out-of-pocket costs dropped 11 per cent following the introduction of the Government's cheaper child care measures; and

(c) the Government's ECEC worker retention payment will be tied to a commitment from early learning services to limit fee increases to 4.4 per cent, an important condition that will keep downward pressure on fees for Australian families; and

(3) acknowledges that:

(a) since the election, there are 860 more ECEC services, around 68,000 more children in ECEC, and around 30,000 more ECEC workers; and

(b) between 2018 and 2022, fees under the previous Government increased by 22.8 per cent compared to the OECD adjusted average of 6.2 per cent.

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