A NEW Federal Government childcare subsidy came into effect last week and could benefit more than four thousand families with young children in Ballarat.<\/p>\n
Families earning less than $80,000 will see a subsidy rate of 90 per cent for their child in care, while those with two or more children under five in care will see a subsidy of up to 95 per cent.<\/p>\n
Those with a combined income of $120,000 per year with one child in care will save $1700 annually.<\/p>\n
Member for Ballarat, Catherine King, visited Ballarat Child Care Co-operative to mark the legislation change last Friday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this stage of life, other than your mortgage, childcare is the biggest expense and puts a lot of pressure on families,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are also choices having to be made about whether you return to work, or not.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really pleased the Government\u2019s new changes to the childcare subsidy are coming into place which will make childcare far more affordable for families.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are 4200 families in the Ballarat area that will benefit from this change, and hopefully more families are able to access childcare, and increase their hours of work, if that\u2019s what they want to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt also provides access to early education for children, which is really critical in those first five years.\u201d<\/p>\n
BCCC acting director Maddie Groux said 91 families are part of the centre\u2019s community, and that the subsidy will lift a load for parents, particularly working mums.<\/p>\n
However, Victorian Liberal Senator and shadow minister for education Sarah Henderson criticised the changes, saying in a statement they didn\u2019t go far enough when inflation is taken into account.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime and time again, Labor promised lower costs for early childhood education, but all it has delivered is higher fees, leaving many parents further out of pocket than they were before,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEducation Minister Jason Clare is tone-deaf to the cost-of-living crisis so many Australians are facing.<\/p>\n
\u201cLabor\u2019s policy to deliver \u2018cheaper child care\u2019 is an absolute failure. Australian families are being hit with higher costs with no relief in sight.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A NEW Federal Government childcare subsidy came into effect last week and could benefit more than four thousand families with young children in Ballarat. Families earning less than $80,000 will see a subsidy rate of 90 per cent for their child in care, while those with two or more children under five in care will […]<\/p>\n