Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

I can guarantee that the transition package is a very generous proposition for the early childhood education and childcare sector, providing some $708 million in support for transition away from the emergency measures that were put in place. They were put in place at a time where we saw childcare enrolments plummeting, and therefore the viability of childcare services to stay open and offer care to parents under threat.

We now see childcare enrolments back up above the 70 per cent mark. We're seeing families come back into the system. I think it's perfectly reasonable that those high-income families who can afford to contribute to the childcare fees ought do, so we get back to assistance being targeted where it's necessary. But we also recognise that to transition from those emergency measures back to normality extra support is required. That's why that $708 million calculated at 25 per cent of fee revenue will be provided to enable childcare services to do so successfully.