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

I thank Senator Paterson for his question and his concern for hardworking families in Victoria and indeed all around Australia on the support they receive to be able to go to work, juggle the family bills and, particularly, meet their childcare expenses. The Turnbull government's comprehensive reforms of Australia's childcare system will help the most hardworking Australian families to meet their bills. They will ensure that around one million Australian families benefit from comprehensive reforms restructuring childcare services which will empower families to choose the days they work and the hours they work to suit their personal circumstances and, in doing so, to be able to do so without fearing about falling off a cliff in terms of their childcare support.

Our estimates are that around 230,000 Australian families will increase their participation in the paid workforce because our childcare changes will make the system fairer and more flexible for those who need it most. In particular, we will end the cliff that many families fall off midyear in terms of the childcare support they receive. Around this time of year, many Australian families start to find they run out of subsidy under the $7½ thousand cap. Our changes for families earning less than $185,000 per annum will see that cap abolished completely. That will help around 90,000 families who hit that cap at present and of course empower many more to be able to choose to work more hours.

We will better target support to those on the lowest incomes so that families earning less than $65,000 a year will see the weight of subsidy paid for child care going up from 72 per cent to 85 per cent—