KEY POINTS
- A campaign backed by mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has drafted a childcare bill that would cap fees at $10 a day.
- The proposal is expected to cost $5.5 billion a year.
- It's been described by Victorian independent MP Zoe Daniel as "transformative".
Childcare fees would be slashed to $10 a day under a plan to make it a "universal right".
Parents would be able to access three days at week capped at that price under the proposal. It would create a 52-week paid parental leave scheme, the allowance of which could be shared between partners.
Low-income families would get three days of childcare for free, and all parents would get at least 10 child and maternal health checks at no cost.
The proposal is being spearheaded by Thrive by Five, a national campaign for childcare reform driven by mining billionaire Andrew Forrest's Minderoo Foundation.
It first emerged late last year, but is now in the form of a draft bill that the group is seeking feedback on and hopes some MPs will co-sponsor it.
Thrive by Five CEO and South Australia's former premier, Jay Weatherill, launched the proposal on Wednesday, alongside Victorian independent MP Zoe Daniel and families and children's advocates.
"This law would enshrine the universal rights of all Australian families and children, and act as a roadmap for long-term, durable and coordinated reform of the whole early childhood sector," Weatherill said in a statement ahead of the announcement.
The plan, which would be rolled out over a decade, would come at a multibillion-dollar cost to the federal budget. Weatherhill said the $10-a-day component would cost around $5.5 billion a year.
"But it fundamentally pays for itself," Weatherill said, saying that it would boost women's economic participation, and have broader societal benefits through lifting "the general capability of a whole generation".
The federal government last year . The move reduced costs, according to a year-long review by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, but many childcare providers hiked fees, leading to .
Childcare fees in Australia increased by almost 23 per cent between 2018 to 2022, compared to an average of 6.2 per cent in other developed nations.
"This is transformative policy," Daniel said.
"It also speaks directly to economic empowerment of women ... the evidence shows provision of early, accessible childhood education and care enables those women to work.
"At the moment, working costs women money; it simply doesn't stack up for a lot of women by the time they pay for their kids to be in care to work."
It comes as Australia's government-funded, paid parental leave scheme will expand after new laws passed parliament on Monday.
The 20 weeks of paid leave families can currently access will be gradually bumped up by two weeks each year from July 2024, until the 26-week rate is reached in July 2026.
But those who are on leave when the financial year rolls over will not receive the extra two weeks, with the leave period applied from when an application is made.
It is expected to benefit more than 180,000 families each year and cost about $4.4 billion annually from 2026/27.
To encourage more two-parent families to share caring duties, four weeks will be reserved for each parent on a "use it or lose it" basis.
Parents will also get greater flexibility and be able to take four weeks of leave at the same time.
Early Childhood Education Minister Anne Aly said early childhood education had a "transformational benefit" and acknowledged more sector reforms were needed.
"We’ll consider the final recommendations of and the future of the early learning system as we chart a course to universal early childhood education and care," she said.
With the Australian Associated Press.
