Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Early Childhood Education. How is the Albanese Labor government helping relieve cost-of-living pressures for early childhood education workers and families, and are there any other approaches?

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Robertson not just for his question but because the member for Robertson understands that early childhood workers provide an essential service. That's exactly why early childhood education is an important priority for the Albanese Labor government. I'm delighted to update the House that the Albanese government's Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) Bill 2024 has now passed the Senate, delivering an historic 15 per cent wage increase for early childhood workers right across Australia.

Now, that's good news, but there's more good news, because in 2022 we introduced our changes to the childcare subsidy, making early childhood education more affordable for over one million Australian families, and recent ABS figures confirm for us now that those reforms reduced out-of-pocket expenses for families even more than we originally thought. The corrected data shows that, after the introduction of our reforms in 2022, families' out-of-pocket expenses fell by 17.2 per cent, and average out-of-pocket costs in the June quarter of 2024 remain lower than when the childcare subsidy was first introduced in 2018.

Making early childhood education and care more affordable was just a first step towards our vision of universal early childhood education and care. We know that there is more to do, and we know that a strong and sustainable workforce is fundamental to that work. Today, there are around 30,000 more workers in early childhood education than when we first came into office, and that's in no small measure due to the deliberate actions of this government in creating a pipeline of workers through fee-free TAFE, in supporting professional development and paid practicums, and in our historic wage increase—15 per cent for the sector. Combined with our tax cuts, this wage increase ensures that early childhood workers are not just earning more but also keeping more of what they earn.

I'm asked about alternative approaches, and the Leader of the Opposition continues to dismiss this important wage increase as a one-off sugar hit. Make no mistake: the essential services provided by early childhood educators and workers would be at risk under those opposite, because they don't value early childhood education and care and they don't support higher wages. This government is bringing down the cost of early childhood education and care, and we're raising wages in the sector. That's how you deliver real, meaningful cost-of-living relief to workers and to families. That's what Labor governments do, and that's what this Leader of the Opposition won't do.