Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Hansard source

The Morrison government understands the value of early childhood education and care and is investing record funding of $8.6 billion this year, benefitting around one million families. Our childcare reforms have delivered a 7.9 per cent reduction in out-of-pocket costs for families and include a $1.2 billion safety net supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged children. Our government funds the majority of the cost of early education and care in Australia. We've also invested $2.8 billion in preschools since 2014, providing funding every year, including $449½ million in 2020. This has resulted in around 91 per cent of children being enrolled in a preschool program in the year before school. We're continuing our focus on boosting participation for those that need it the most through our preschool attendance strategy program.