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

A number of changes in this package will benefit families. At this time of year, many families are already struggling because their childcare rebate cap has been hit—the $7,500 ceiling. This means, from now until the end of the financial year, those families would be paying the full amount of their childcare costs, inhibiting their ability to earn a living whilst their children are being cared for.

Our reforms will ensure that for low- and middle-income families—all families earning less than around $185,000 per annum—that ceiling will be removed so that they will be able to work the number of days that best suit them without those childcare costs being an impediment to their contribution to the economy or to their decisions in terms of how they manage their work and family obligations. We see as well increased support in the rate of subsidy, again targeted at the lowest-income hardest-working Australian families.