Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

In addition to the range of additional regulatory impacts we have brought in to make sure we tighten conditions and enhance compliance activities, we are also working as closely as we can with the states and territories—who have a key role to play, through enhanced data-sharing services with the states and territories—to make sure that we are better informed when their regulatory authorities identify services that may not have children in them and to make sure that those states and territories report that to us, so that we can take action to stop payments to those services.

I have urged state and territory ministers, who have the primary responsibility in relation to the regulation of childcare services and providers, to do more—to work with us. We have agreed to come back at the education council by the end of this year to assess what additionality can occur to make sure we further strengthen the measures the Turnbull government has already taken to save around half a billion dollars in otherwise wasted funding.