Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Bragg for his question and his obvious interest in this very important part of public policy. The Morrison government is absolutely committed to supporting all Australian families, particularly when they have young families themselves. The latest CPI data confirmed that Australian families continue to pay less out-of-pocket expenses under the Morrison government's new childcare package. The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that, on average, out-of-pocket costs have actually reduced by 4.2 per cent and they're lower than they were before the introduction of the childcare subsidy in July 2018. This comes off the back of record funding to help Australian families manage the cost of child care. This year alone, we've committed $8.6 billion towards the cost of child care and that will increase to $10 billion over time. At the moment, there are more than 1.3 million Australian children who are benefiting from the subsidy that has been provided by this government through the childcare subsidy.

There are a number of mechanisms in our policy that ensure downward pressure continues to be put on childcare fees, including the hourly rate and parent co-payments. Eighty-seven per cent of centre based day care services are charged at or below the hourly cap. Last year the Morrison government delivered legislation updates that reduced red tape which made it easier for families to access childcare and made it easier for them to maintain their subsidy. In fact, just this week we've introduced legislation to further streamline access for vulnerable and disadvantaged children—and this includes those children who are living in foster care—to make sure that they get the support that they deserve as well.