There has been a lot of chatter about the state of child care in Australia recently. How much it costs, how much childcare workers are getting paid, should nannies be a tax deduction, how much the rebates help … how do we keep it affordable. The list goes on. And on.
Well, the Australian Government knows who to ask and that’s Mamamia readers.
We’ve run news updates, posts and watched comment threads unfold as you discuss child care options and what works – and doesn’t work – for your family. Many Mamamia readers work in the industry and know firsthand what it’s like.
The Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Child Care Minister Kate Ellis came to Mamamia HQ last week to have that same conversation with you, answering your questions and replying to your comments live right here.
Ms Gillard told journalists
“I want to make sure that when we’re giving families extra support that that is making a difference to child care affordability for them,” she said.
The PM is in Sydney for a child care summit, talking directly to child care workers and unions to nail down policy details.
Ms Gillard said Labor had tripled the investment in childcare – to more than $22 billion – and had increased the child care tax rebate from 30 per cent to 50 per cent.
Now, she’s not looking for Dorothy Dixers or easy questions to answer. It’s up to you to ask the questions you need answered (politely, of course)! Tell the PM or Kate Ellis what it’s like for you. How could you be helped?
The PM was online last week however Kate Ellis will be coming back to answer your questions over the next few days.
So make sure you come back to get involved!
Fire away: what is child care like for you at the moment? How could you be helped? What isn’t working? What’s it like working in the industry? Do you have anything to do with the industry and want to share your thoughts?
NB: Remember, your experience counts. If you have something to say about balancing child care and work, let us know. But our usual comment rules apply. Stick to the topic. Keep your comments civil and polite. We can disagree as much as we like, but rude comments will be removed.
Comments
724 Comments so far
i believe early childhood educators need a pay rise sooner rather than later as we have such high responsibilities in caring, educating, nurturing and building children’s knowledge and we most definetly are the strong support for running this country by caring for there beautiful children while others work. Why are we treated like baby sitters when we are better and worth more than that of which our wage is so low. People need to understand the important role we take on as child educators and we need to be recognised.
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I have had my daughter on the waitlist on every day care in our area since I was 12 weeks pregnant, she will be one in 2 weeks and we still dont have a place. We have also just received a letter to say that there will be no places available for 2013, so basically my child will be at least 2 before she perhaps gets a local place, if she does, which means over 3 years on a waiting list at a minimum. As I was going back to work, I needed to enrol her in a centre close to the office in the CBD, this is $140 per day, and with the CCB capped at $7500 per year, which means we get the 50% rebate for 2 days per week, but after that child care is $140 per day! What choice do you have as a parent if you live in an area where there is simply not enough childcare places?
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Did you all see this BIG NEWS? The PM has endorsed the campaign:
http://www.myunitedvoice.org/cc_bignews
Signatures are still needed regardless!
Here’s the petition:
http://www.myunitedvoice.org/child_care_campaign
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There simply aren’t enough places! I’ve been in contact with my local centre for months now (I put my son’s name down as soon as he was born) and today got a call that a Thursday has become available (he’s only 7 months old, I don’t go back to work until November) and that if I don’t take it I may never get a place! This is lunacy! I’m either supposed to place him in childcare 4 months early and pay for it even when I’m not working just to make sure that I don’t lose my only chance of getting a place or just throw my arms in the air and go back to work one day a week anyway and hope that by the time I go back three days a week that tuesday and wednesday become available too! I don’t know what to do! No childcare centre should ever be totally full- that way there’s flexibility to have places for children as and when they’re needed. I resent that I am expected to place him there when he (and I) are not ready just to make sure he has a place in november.
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The Prime Minister has said that she doesn’t know why females feel the need to disrobe in public. Did you take the opportunity to tell her it’s all men’s fault?
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Has the childcare wage increase been approved? Just got notification that my daycare is increasing fees by $2/day due to 2.9% wage increase.
The daily fees were increased at the beginning of the year also!
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I have had my child on wait lists to get into Child care centres from before he was born. I am due to go back to work in August and they have all told me I wont get a placement until next year. I am down on Family day care list too and they too have told me not to hold out for that. I can’t afford a nanny’s daily rate, it is more than what i get paid – what the hell am I going to do come August to pay the rent and feed my child????
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Everyone seems to forget about the smaller Privatey owned Child Care Sector.
We charge $71.90 per day and are already struggling to make ends meet. With the new ratios our Baby room runs at a Loss .And we need to consider if its even worth having a baby room. But the provider cant afford to pay higher wages our wage bill is already at over 55% 0f turnover. The Fees need to increase to cover the costs but parents cant afford extra fees without assistance from the government. My suggestion is use the same principal as Aged care. Average the cost of child care at $100.00 per day with the government paying 80% with annual price increases at 6 month intervals. the same as Aged Care which seems to work well. Staff wages are not as bad as people beleive, Cert 111 staff earns approx $18.00p/h but diploma earns approx $24.00p/h.
This is the similar to aged care wages An increase of $5.00 per hour on our wage bill will add and average of $12.00 per day on fees.
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As a diploma qualified group educator I have been receiving $20.28 per hour, not $24 as stated above. With the amount of responsibility and the amount of work I take home that I don’t get paid for, I don’t get paid enough.
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Respectfully, as a diploma qualified group educator I have been receiving $20.28 per hour, not $24 as stated above – that’s about what our director earns. With the amount of responsibility and the amount of work I take home that I don’t get paid for, I don’t get paid enough. I don’t think the families should have to pay more either. There are also the unpaid meetings, the unpaid events and so forth as well as a lot of preparation, research and study. I don’t know how people do it with young kids at home. The government want all kids in care but don’t do enough to make it feasible for many lower income families unless you are in a situation where you get subsidized because you don’t work. Working families need it more. Problem is, most people see us as mere baby sitters. Well, I would like to see sitters have to fill in the paperwork we have to each day, look after 12 kids on their own and actually educate the child. Add some special needs kids into the mix which are not always covered for under relief. Add a few in the room and be on your own. Yeah, I definitely should get paid more.
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CURIOUS, thanks for your reply …but, my Partner for one is a Female…2 she works for labour hire companies and pays Tax! but looking for other jobs as hire companies are not hiring …she worked for toyota and cabury swepps they both cut staff!! No one in australia can get a job these days as so many illegal immagrants/legal immagrants get work before us!! just take a look at the jobs in the minning industry !…what i actually mean’t when i said that my partner cant get work is that no matter what job she applies for she gets turned down or only offered work for 5 weeks and then nothing else until something comes up but rarely does that happen …i am happy to look for work but One i have been rejected from some jobs as i am either not qualified or havent worked for a while…2 both of us need to be working to be able to stay a float childcare is not exactly cheap!!! My child has special needs and requires attention 24/7 so NO I DONT EXPECT TAXPAYERS TO PAY MY WAY OR MY FAMILIES WAY FOR THAT MATTER …AND WE DEFINATLY DONT HAVE ANY MONEY OR TIME TO GO ON ROMANTIC DATES AT ANYTIME THANKYOU!!!! Australians that dont have work or can not get work cant live off taxpayers money according to you but pedaphiles and immagrints can LIVE OFF TAX PAYERS MONEY??? you dont know my situation nor would you want to know what we have been through trying to get work to have a stable life for our family so do not judge me!!
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I sympathise for your situation… every family’s circumstances are unique and we could all stand to be a little more tolerant and open minded about differences.
However it saddens me that you defended your circumstances by taking a shot at immigrants for “taking all the jobs”. There are lots of reasons why the unemployment rate is higher at the moment, and immigrants have nothing to do with it. Saying that has done you no favours if you want people to show compassion toward you.
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Totally agree with Lucidainthesky… what on earth to immigrants and pedaphiles have to do with anything?
Accordingly to you all the immigrants are getting the jobs. If that is true, then why would they be living off taxpayer’s money? The would have a paid job.
But – the questions remain – are immigrants getting all the jobs? And if so, why are they? Perhaps it is because they are willing to work harder for a lower pay. And are not constantly yelling: we want more pay, we want less hours!
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Sorry to hear your child has special needs. But doesn’t the government have special payments for these situations?
Where is the father of this child? He should take responsibility for the child too!
We all get knocked back when looking for jobs. You just have to persevere. Pick yourself up and keep going. Also, if your partner hasn’t found work in 3 years, it might be time to either relocate or consider changing jobs. 3 years is a long time. As for yourself, the longer you stay out of a job, the worse it will be – so keep going to interviews! To give you hope: my mother had to go back to work after my father passed away. She was unskilled, had been out of the workforce for 10+ years and she never finished highschool. But she persevered – she found a job as a check out chick to support her 3 children. Not a glamorous job but a job that paid the bills. Life was not easy – I remember having to go home from school and cook dinner before my mum got home from work.
good luck
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You say don’t judge but accuse asylum seekers (who, btw, are NOT illegal – they are entitled to request asylum) of ‘taking all the jobs’?
Show some empathy for others
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why does the government give so much fee relief to non working parents ? places and excess money would be better spent helping working parents and decent wages to childcare workers.
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You get the same subsidy as everyone else, and if you fulfil other criteria (work/study/job seeking) you get more subsidies. People need childcare to do all this stuff too.
My daughter’s father won’t acknowledge us, so I rely on the parenting payment. I am at uni now, so I use day care and the subsidies, because if I couldn’t access that, I’d be working in some crappy job to pay for childcare so I could go to work in order to pay for daycare.
It’s a ridiculous generalisation to make when you don’t know people’s circumstances and why their kids are going to day care.
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Well said, I’m in the same boat
and I’m so thankful for the subsidy’s they have given me a chance to improve my future.
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Deborah slightly offened by your comment, if you are a non working parent it could be because of a range of curcumistances. I for one was a full time uni student and relied on the centrelink Jet sheme to help me pay for the child care hours I needed to study full time. Without this financial relief I wouldn’t have had the choice to better my life and my daughter through high education. I don’t think the solution your looking for is found by pointing fingers at others or seperating the classes. On a side note before uni I worked as a qualified child care worker and I didn’t have decent wages so I left.
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Dear Mamamia
I have approximately 20 years expereince working in the child care industry as an Educator and a Director.
The union is advocating that the government subsidise wages -NOT families.
I would like to make it absolutley clear to all the families in Australia that child care workers feel very strongly that families do not foot the bill for child care workers/educators recieving a payrise.
There are three issues we face in the childcare industry.
A high turn over of staff due to low wages which inturn effects continuity of care for children – and the relationships educators build with families.
The cost of childcare
Quality of care
We need family support. Child Care workers/educators feel for families struggling to meet the cost of childcare, we work alongside these families everyday. It is not uncommon at all to have atleast 2 or 3 staff working in childcare who have their children in full time child care too. We really do understand that families are at breaking point with the cost of living, trying to raise a young family and trying to pay for qulaity care.
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As an ex childcare worker who left to go to uni, I would like to add that it would be great if the government could somehow assist to bring the ratio of children to carers down.
I personally found it too high as a worker and as a parent, even though in my experiences they were within the industry guidelines, and feel that all centres would be able to deliver even better quality care if the ratios were lower.
I think this would assist with turnover rates for workers through reduced stress.
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Childcare rebate, childcare benefit and family tax benefit are based on a family’s combined income, yet we are taxed as individuals.
So a family earning combined $80k a year is far better off if that income is made up of two people earning $40k each, as opposed to one person earning the bulk of the income.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if one person earned all of it, and the other parent could stay home with the children, but what about in situations in which one parent earns $60-70k and the other earns $30k?
In this situation any children still need to attend day care but the parents do not receive as many benefits to make this more affordable. The taxable income is higher, but the result means less money to live off AND less time with their children.
So does the government want to keep people in jobs or go back to a situation in which most mothers (generally) have to leave the workforce completely until their children are at school?
Ironically, it’s often low-paid part-time childcare workers who are affected by this situation.
What are the chances of the tax system being changed so that we are taxed as families rather than as individuals?
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I love being a stay at home mum. I love being the first thing my beautiful baby sees in the morning, the one that responds to her every need during the day, the one she calls out to, the one to make her laugh, the one to cuddle her to sleep.
But why do I feel guilty for fantasizing about working. About not having to worry about money. About taking the train into to the city. About putting on a crisp new suit. About pulling out a fresh white piece of paper, and writing a to do list, that doesn’t have “get dressed, have shower and clean kitchen” as the top three priorities!?
I wanted this beautiful little bundle more than anything else… I am so grateful to have her. Which is why I think I feel guilty for saying I want other things in my life too… “What! You have a beautiful, happy, healthy, SLEEPING baby, and now you are telling me you want MORE!?”
But I do.
Not only do I want my fulfilling, exciting career back in my life, but I also want my beautiful little girl to know that she is still my priority. I want my husband to feel like he is still the centre of my universe. I want to be able to go to the gym and work out HARD without feeling guilty. I want to be able to breastfeed. I want to have a clean house, and have the organisation and energy to cook good clean healthy food. Oh and I want to have a conversation with my girlfriends. A long one. With a few wines.
But I don’t want to be away from my little baby… EVER.
So how is this even possible?
As a society, we have given women so many options, but at the end of the day. It’s impossible to do all of them properly. So the only solution is to tear me neatly in half. One half of me would be the perfect mother, wife and housekeeper. The other would be a business woman who is quick witted, clever and a power house.
The only other solution is to combine them both, but we can’t all be mummy business owners, making money working from home… Can we?…
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Honestly I can’t understand why the government can’t scrap the CCR and instead regulate childcare fees (stringently) through funding schemes to ease the burden of wages on centres. For example, fund at least 1/2 the wages of qualified teachers in centres and a 1/3 of the wages of Diploma qualified staff. This could be regulated by stipulating that to recieve funding, said staff must be in a group leader/teacher position within the centre, and would therefore encourage centres to employ more highly qualified staff in leadership roles, make it easier to lift the childcare award, and encourage staff to complete Diplomas whilst assisting so that they can graduate to a group leader position. As it is, centres constantly put staff who are just starting their diplomas into leader roles and this to ME reduces the quality and level of experience of staff in those roles and encourages higher turn over. If this changes through funding schemes, then staff wanting to progress will have to prove their capabilities rather than end up in a role because there is noone else to fill it. The Kindergarten funding scheme is good – but I think it needs to be implemented in the pre-kindy room as well. Every centre should be able to employ and recieve funding for at least 2 qualified teachers. The childcare award also needs to look more like the teacher award with an experience scale that goes up to 12 or 14 years. At the moment you get paid about 50c more an hour over 2 years and more than 2 years experience is not rewarded at all. If you have an increasing payscale that rewards extensive experience then the industry might have hope of retaining more staff.
With the provision of sufficient funding, no centre should need to charge more than $40/day and then parents will not need the rebate. You also increase staff quality at the same time by boosting wages, at the same time making staff put in the hard yards to get to the top wages.
See how much sense all this makes????????
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I agree with this so much!
The value of the child care worker needs to be raised and treated like a professional position like teaching, and rewarded accordingly.
The critical period for higher cognitive development is 9 – 48 months, making it essential that high quality, enriched learning experiences are delivered during this time.
Cognitive development impacts health outcomes, education levels and quality of life for children into adulthood.
Every dollar invested in a child’s development up to 48 months saves four dollars in adult support services needed in the future
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I could only afford to have 1 child in full-time care so I was a stay at home until my eldest went to school. Half my wage went on childcare fees. Thank goodness that my husband was able to cover the mortgage and other expenses We need more than just the 50% childcare rebate if we are to encourage women to go back to work.
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Where does the childcare fees go if childcare educator wages are so low?
over 1/2 my wage goes on childcare, it’s just not worth working anymore
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Why can’t the Government start paying Educators like me wages as this would free up much needed funds allowing childcare centers to buy the required resources needed to educate the children. The government recognizes the important work teachers do as professionals and it is high time we get recognized as professionals too as we do play an important role in Educating the children in Australia.
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In regards to the childcare article I’m pleased that more is being invested in this area. I’m a new mum and looking at childcare centres at the moment to send my little girl next year. I’ve been happy with 1 centre out of 8 that I have visited and some that I wouldn’t even look at sending a pet too. The childcare workes truly deserve to get paid more than what they do as it’s an industry that comes with a huge responsibility of caring for our children and nuturing them while we have to work. We don’t have family support and have to find a centre that we feel happy to leave our child at so we can get on and focus on our jobs in order to keep them.
I might add that I work in the recruitment industry and see some people get paid way more than they should be. After visiting centres in recent weeks I’m amazed that they don’t get paid more. I would be happy to be paying more for childcare to have the comfort that my baby is getting the best care possible and turn out to be one happy child that affects the rest of her life as to how she was cared for growing up.
I look forward to seeing how the childcare situation unfolds in the coming months.
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I am a childcare educator,i love my job but if the goverment doesn`t do something soon about the wages i am considering leaving ,my dilema every week is can i afford to buy food for my children or pay the bills this week.
Julia please put our wages up we do so much for other peoples children and families. We dont just baby sit children anymore i really would like you to live on our wage for a month and do what we do its not easy.
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My son is currently in family day care and it’s absolutely fantastic. He loves it and I love the fact he is in a small group and has a wonderful relationship with his care provider. I know how many hoops she had to go through to start up so I think making it a bit easier for home daycares to get started would be great as I know a lot of people are interested but struggle to get started.
I think the rebate is fantastic and it really helps my family and it has made it worth while going back to work. Something I find hard to understand though is a lot of low income earners I know get free child care but they don’t work and aren’t interested in working because they have so many benefits. Whereas I work as does my husband and half our pay goes to tax but we are still ineligable for any extra help even though we are working so hard. It just sometimes appears that those who do work don’t get any help whereas those who are quite happy not contributing get all the help. I understand it’s not always like this and a lot of people do need assistance but it would be nice for those of us who work hard to get some benefits and help also.
One thing that is also a problem with child care centers is their pay. I’m a teacher and I think child care workers have such an important job just like we do and I think they should be paid accordingly. We need to attract great people to the job as they are looking after our most precious asset.
Thanks for asking for our opinions!
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My husband and I have three children, i work around 15 hours at night and my husband is a store manager – lots of perks with that job so it’s great, but he worked extremely hard to get that that position, but we were cut off from childcare pretty early on for earning ‘too much’.
So why on earth the harder you work, the more you earn , the more your pay more for pretty much everything and the people doing lets say nothing get everything for let’s say nothing!!! Daycare is basically free. Why do they deserve more for doing less.
I recently removed my son out of child care, he was going for 2 days a week in preschool as the town we are in has a massive shortage of kindergartens.
Not only we had to pay full fee day care for 2 days a week which was $140- what with this in mind there is not much point myself working. And the service was applauding.
On a postitive note My older son attends a wonderful catholic school – and it cost us around $43 a week. even with a rebate in fees it’s still cheaper to send my children to school than daycare. Why is this and will it ever change?
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I have been a dedicated childcare worker for 20 yrs ever since I left school. I have seen many changes in this time but little in the way of adequate and fair wages for the job we do. We as educators have such an important job but it is not recognised by many for the demanding role it is. We are helping working parents educate and nurture their most precious children. This industry is very stressful yet the dedicated workers like myself stay to make a difference. However as the cost of living has gone up their has been only slight increase in our wages. The industry is loosing quality workers not only due to the demands of this industry but the wages are not reflective of the work we do. I urge anyone who disagrees to walk a day in our job and then say we are only babysitters and do not deserve a fair go. Thank you for listening to our concerns hopefully the deserving childcare educators can see some positive changes in the near future.
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It seems to me that the PM’s visit to Mamamia to ‘discuss’ childcare was part of her current media strategy to connect with voters on this issue. Abbott’s been out in front of this issue for months and the PM might be concerned he is actually getting somewhere with it. Hence the very short 1 hour visit and additional big hoo ha with the media coming along as well and the big promotion of the visit on this site. After all, this story has been constantly pushed to the top spot on the front page even when more recent stories have been posted.
I get that it’s a big coup for Mamamia to have the PM visit and they are proud of that and that’s great, but let’s just think about whether the PM has a real interest in this issue or whether she is starting to consider how this will play in the next election. All of these childcare benefits were introduced under the previous government as far as I can recall.
Shortly after Rudd was first electe he cut back the salary limits for the payment of CCB. That hurt many middle class families, including mine. At the same time he increased the amount of CCB lower earning families could get back. Good if you are a stay at home mum and want a few days of childcare for your children, bad if you are a dual income family where each partner earns $60k.
That government also reduced the CCR cap per child to $7,500 – the same as it was in the 2008-2009 financial year. It was reduced by almost $500 from the previous financial year per child.
So if you look at what this government actually do rather than the hype and warm and fuzzy talk – they are slowly working on reducing the amount of support families can get while forcing changes in the industry that push up costs. What does that cause? Increased daily fees for childcare. This is what we are seeing now. So, fewer middle class families are eligible for CCB, the rate of CCR they can get is less as well, BUT their fees are rising. The end result of this is that they have less money in their pockets at the end of each month.
Considering all of this, I doubt very much whether any of our concerns will be actually listened to and addressed. Abbott’s in the news this morning talking about the fact that it is more affordable to have children when you are on welfare and sadly I think that is true. I have a few friends who don’t work and whose partners are in average paying jobs ($50k per year) and they recieve hundreds of dollars a week in support from the government. One family I know lives off an inheritance which isn’t taken into account by the government and pockets up to $10K per year in government benefits.
I’m so over the rhetoric and the attempt to be warm and fuzzy. Look at what the government is actually DOING, ignore what they are SAYING and the whole issue becomes more clear.
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Thanks for your comments.
It was this Government that increased the non-means tested Child Care Rebate from 30 to 50% of out of pocket costs.
We also increased the cap from $4354 to $7500 per year.
And we’ve tripled investment in child care assistance since the last Government.
The Labor Government is interested in ideas about the next steps in child care reform, that’s why i’m here today, and on Thursday, with the PM listening to Mama Mia readers to inform that work.
The PM was clear on Thursday that we are determined to take action within months.
In contrast, Tony Abbott wants to hand ball it to the Productivity Commission.
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I think Abbot is right. Only people on welfare payments can afford to have kids. Look on the streets and you will see hordes of less educated, low income families with 5 kids or more. These kids are growing up thinking it is their “right” to get government benefits. On the other hand, the hard-working professionals get taxed like crazy, wait until they are financially able to afford kids (in their 30s/40s) and only have 1 or 2 kids max. At the rate we are heading, what is going to happen to the Australian gene pool? And one day, the multiplying leeches will suck the blood dry out of the working families and the whole system will collapse.
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Hoards or hordes, Guest?
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Hordes is correct, if Guest meant huge numbers of people.
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That was my point, Lizi.
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Ha! It was corrected! Thanks, guest!
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In contrast to Tony Abbott? atm we’re NOT particulary interested in what Tony Abbott does or doesn’t do!
He is not running the country.
He very well may be next year..but atm he is NOT!
You are! or supposed to be!
But I will not be voting Labor next year.
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Kate
We are long term developers and operators of child care.
Over the years there has been a structural shift from providing care to providing education and the industry is passing on the extra cost.
I find it interesting that people only quote the headline fee and seem to forget about the CCB and CCR. If the average cost is $70 per day most will receive these rebates and ending up paying in the order of $3 per hour including nappies and food in most cases. There are a small percentage of parents with multiple children doing 5 days of care and perhaps the government could further assist in these cases where passing the $7500 threshold becomes expensive.
Note even in a $100 centre everyone eligible effectively gets 3 days of care at half the rate in a $70 centre this equates to 4 days care at half the rate. Once you have children in care more than this you are back to full rate so those in full times jobs are disadvantaged having said that most centres discount for 5 days of care.
The main issue with the industry is without doubt attracting and retaining good staff. On the whole they do an amazing job in very difficult circumstances as they never get to switch off mentally and generally are on their feet all day. Think about looking after your own kids and multiply that by 20 or 30 times!
The problem however in putting wages up is that the industry will naturally pass this cost on being the biggest expense in any centre.
Is there a way that the government can provide for better tax breaks for staff in these industries allowing them to increase their take home pay without creating an extra cost? The longer a person stays in the industry the better the tax break could be?
This way effectively real wages increase without the cost to industry. The government gets to target it’s benefit more effectively and at the same time hopefully get some credit rather than throw more money at an industry which frankly doesn’t seem to value the dollars already being spent.
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I believe parents are far to reliant on Government money to raise their children ,when i had my children you has as many as you could afford , surely we as a country cannot continue down this path when is it going to end ? probly when you get to pension age and realize the money stops!!! I am a childcare worker with over twenty years experience in the industry and i see workers leave each week because of poor conditions .
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I’ve heard many people say that, but I know many many people who would have no children if that was the case, myself included. And here’s the thing, I’m a well educated person not a high-school drop out. It would be a real shame to say that everyone on a low and middle income is prevented from having children. Only a very small handful of people would be able to have children if there was a minimum income for procreating…
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I think that childcare needs to be looked at as part of a broader look at the total education system. The structure of many households has changed dramatically from the 1970′s and perhaps earlier learning needs to be considered part of the schooling system – eg Primary School commences in some form at 3 yrs of age…or 2 yrs of age, or whenever – obviously with relevant learning outcomes for their age, and with a degree of flexibility that doesn’t require children to attend school until they are 6 (or whatever the age is currently) to allow for families where one parent stays at home, or for part time working parents.
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We operate childcare centres in QLD. We got involved when looking for a centre for our son. The changes and improvements, especially in relation to better qualifications and training for our educators is really starting to improve care and early learning programmes. As private operators it is really tough to compete with the “Not-for-Profit” providers. We pay payroll tax, high rents and do not have access to some of the funding, meanwhile in many cases the fees are higher at many of the not-for-profit centres. We are very commited to deliver quality childcare and sophisticated early learning. We employ a Bachelor trained teacher in all our centres to oversee programming and ensure it is age appropriate. We employ over 400 staff and we take our role very seriously and want to get all children in our care to the best position we can. However, we need a level playing field with some competitive neutrality with the Not-for-Profit operators otherwise we will not survive. Would love to provide some further details to Prime Minister Gillard or Minister Ellis
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It’s always a struggle when the kids are very young. My children are 10 and 12. The CCB was negligible when they were young, and it was a huge struggle financially. But that time passes and then they’re at school and OSHC fees are much less. I worked when my children were a few months old, so I empathise with other parents, and it feels like you’re going backwards. But it doesn’t last forever!
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Does anyone know if these comments are being passed onto Julia Gillard and where we can we view her responses?
It has been great to read the discussion posts. You can tell we are in childcare as the comments are written with respect and dignity even though this is not given to us in return. Well done Childcare educators for getting our point of view across and still remaining caring.
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Child care is a huge issue in my family at the moment.
I have just returned to work after having my daughter, shes now 18 months old and we just honestly can not afford for me to stay home any longer – we need more money coming in, we are just not making ends meet. We worked out that with me not working, we are $150 short minimum every fortnight. Adding it up, our end of year debt would be massive.
My partner earns too much for me to be eligible for parenting payment, and Im only eligible for minimum rate of FTB. Even though what he earns is really not that much, and he is on the lower end of his tax scale so a lot of his pay is gone in tax before we see it, even though our eligibility for anything is based on his before tax income. But that is all beside the point, I am getting to my real point, sorry.
Anyway, so I had to go back to work. But because the government has decided that we definitely have enough money to get by, by saying we are ineligible for any more than minimal FTB and minimal CCB based on our family income, and we have three kids, rent, bills, petrol etc to pay for, my working is not an option either.
I am paying $110 a day in daycare for my daughter, of which my out of pocket expenses (after CCB and CCR are taken in to account) are $840 out of the $1100 per f.n. I pay $200 of the $285 per week needed to have my two older boys in before and after school care. I can only earn around $37k a year as I have little experience (had kids young and had to take time off when I had them) and dont have any degree or certificates as I have never been able to afford to go to uni or tafe, as Ive always had to be working to survive. the $37k im earning gives me around $1200 a f/n. Im paying around $1200 in child care fees.
I want to go back to uni/tafe/anything so I can earn more and help support our family, but to do so kids would need to be in child care, which as you can see I can not afford even while working, let alone if Im not. Im not eligible for JET as I don’t get parenting payment. So my eduation and employment prospects arent going to get any better than they are right now.
With more help with child care, we would be able to make ends meet and maybe I would be able to up skill to make my future better. But with the child care fees, we are stuck in a financial hole with no prospect of it getting better.
I say with all honestly, when I was a single mum with two kids, I had more of a future than I do now. How is it that now we earn more, but we are in a worse position than we were before?
I realise this was more of a whinge/statement than a question, but the cost of child care is smothering us, and my not working is not a choice. Is there anything that is being talked about or maybe in the future that would help a family like ours?
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We’re determined to act on child care affordability, your story is helping us as we work on the next steps.
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Thanks for responding.
I have one more question/statement: If people like me with no tertiary education, no means to get said education and kids who have to be in child care (especially when its more than one kid where the already high price is doubled or tripled) could access a program like the JET scheme, it would make life a lot easier – it would increase earning power, which would alleviate some of the pressure of child care costs. I understand it was put in place to allow people access to childcare to get them into a situation where they can support themselves….people in my situation are in need of this help too. Is there any way the JET scheme could be extended to include some of those not eligible for the parenting payment? Even if only for certain tafe certs/traineeships/degrees? or only for people returning to work for the first time after a baby, as it is for those already eligible, but who arent qualified for a certain level of income etc?
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This sounds exactly like our story. Cant afford to work, can’t afford to live without both of us working. Despite being highly educated and having a range of work experience, as well as a strong desire to work, I am at times tempted to have another baby *for the money* (which I wouldn’t, but I understand why you might). That actually seems like the only way of making money/being able to pay the bills without going backwards in the process.
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We were very lucky in finding quality, affordable child care for our son who is now in his first year of school. (We live on the Sunshine Coast, QLD). I do believe that child care workers deserve a higher award rate though. In our experience they do an incredible job in such an important and demanding area. We would have even paid slightly more in fees to facilitate this.
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Dear Mamamia
I have worked in this industry for over 15 years. I have worked extensively as an educator. I am now about to turn 40. Often when we turn the big Four -0 we re-think our lives…what would we change? What decisions did we make that impact upon us now?
Child Care wages has had a huge impact on my life and thus my family -my hubby and 2 children. We could not afford to pay off a mortgage until I was employed at John Paul College (as a director) who pay me an above award wage. I think I have sacrifed things that people take for granted on other incomes. Until I had this job I was payed less than 35K a year. That was in 2005. Now I would be payed (and my staff are payed) an average of 38K per year. They cannot afford to pay off a mortgage, they often do not have the money to put food on the table – the cost of living does not match the wages child care workers are payed. I had an employee who could not afford our coffee Friday run because she did not have the $4 dollars for a coffee. We organised the coffee run to be two days after pay day.
I manage to retain most (not all) staff as John Paul college pays for their professional development, such as Senior First Aid, their uniforms and they have R.D.O’S. The centre provides food for the children and the staff save money by eating with the children. If the staff had to pay an average of $7 per day for luch it would cost them $70 dollars per week. They actually see this as a benefit as their wages are so low.
I feel a deep commitment to the child care industry and so do the passionate professionals I work with. At this point in time they feel they are taken advantage of. Because they are committed to the care of children and families they are expected to live on an income that is below average. This results in Educators/child care workers feeling they are being taken advantage of by society and the governement. If they did not come to work to care and Educate Australia’s children then Mothers and Fathers could not go back to work -how would this effect he economy? If we went on a peaceful protest, just for one day -how would that effect the economy? If they did not implement the Early Years Learning Framework and The National Quality Agenda reforms which involves an astounding amount of paper work (that is taken home in order to find the time to fill out all the paper work and to interact effectively with the children during the day) how would that effect the menatl health of future Australian citizens -and once again, how would that effect the economy?
Educators/child care workers should be regarded highly in our society, and be payed accordingly.
They leave the industry so they are payed more and they are also shown more respect by society. If I had a dollar for everytime someone said to me “why do you work in childcare? I wouldnt!”….or this classic (I get this all the time) ” don’t check out chicks get payed more than you?”… I would actually be quite wealthy!!
Getting back to the staff who leave, it’s always the good ones, the ones who are passionate and dedicated. The people who have a universty/tertiary education and feel they deserve to be better payed, treated better.
I will be deeply saddened if Australian’s do not support an industry at crisis point, an industry that is pivotal to the successful running of an entire nation as far as I am concerned.
Kind Regards
Melissa Carey
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Wow! I’m stunned…such credentials and you cannot spell paid (not payed)
I despair for my children.
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I was thinking the same thing.
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Isn’t it lucky someone as clever as you is here to point that out to us because nothing else she said is of any importance!
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I’d like my children to be literate thanks! is that too much to ask?
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Childcare workers teach life skills , teachers teach ABC and we are proud of our work thank you :0
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i agree
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Despair maybe, but if it wasn`t for qua;ity childcare workers where would you be…..at home looking after your own children ,where would you be then ? Payed no need to be condesending and belittling the people who look after and teach the children in their most important years.
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Children go to childcare to be cared for and to do preschool appropriate educational acitivities. They go to school to read and write. Get a grip!
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Gee dana – you could really use some manners.
Getting back to Melissa’s message – yes I see how helpful a bit more respect from society would be (dana’s patronising comment a case in point), in your job.
I agree the childcare sector is a badly paid profession for the job expected of you, though I hope you do not feel undervalued on a personal level.
As a parent I am so grateful to people like you, who care for our kids and help bring them up with such amazing patience and kindness. Thank you, and please, keep going if you can!
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people in glass houses !
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I despair for your children too, you obviously lack manners and respect something that Melissa and people like her would be teaching . There is no need to be catty, she makes many important points and does a sometimes thankless job. I hope your comment made you feel very important I am sure you have never made a typo as you are clearly perfect in every way.
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Dana, don’t despair for your children unless you’re unable to find them early childhood education. We can always correct our spelling (which we learn later in life – not in early childhood). Early childhood educators build children’s interpersonal skills, and these form the foundation for future academic learning across the life span.
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I think everyone would like to see our child care workers paid more – however the system is obviously very broken because the cost of childcare for parents is obscene! For example in 2010 child care for 1 child cost me $15000 for the year…$15000! That child is now in school, a private school, which costs just $2500. Now obviously school holidays and any after school care aren’t taken into account (as my family is lucky enought to be able to work around those) but still that cost difference is quite ridiculous. And I’m sure my child is getting a better education at school than she was in child care.
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Oh and not sure about the lunch comment – why wouldn’t they bring their lunch from home like the rest of us rather that pay $7?
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Also, $7/day, 5 days a week is $35 not $70. Noone in their right mind would spend that much on food at work in a week. And yes, a sandwich from home would cost about $2.
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Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful response. Thank goodness people like you are caring for our children. I feel saddened and appalled that the only point someone could comment on was a typo. Oh to be so perfect. Please maintain your passion!
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Hi there, I think that childcare is a fantastic job with a wonderful aspect of social work. People who go to work both men and women need someone to take care of their child and childcare leaders are extremely useful. As we know that our society is growing both socially and economically we need to make sure that facilities are sufficient. In conclusion, I think we should encourage student in tafe to consider childcare as a option.
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Hi, To tell the truth childcare is a fantastic job for parent who cannot take care of their small children due to causes like work etc…
So childcare should be encouraged because our society is developing both economically and socially. Women go to work not like the olden times where women stay at home. So, childcare should be encourage with ample salary.
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I am a Director of a community based centre, with the new standards brought in the education and care provided to children has lifted, but due to high living costs our parents are struggling to pay fee’s, then my staff who have had extra requirements placed on them to lift there qualifications are struggling even more to live on their wages, I also have hecs debts etc just like any teacher in a school based system from my Bachelor and I get paid less than a third compared to a teacher with the same qualifications, I work longer days, I have less holidays each year. I am losing staff because their leaving the sector for better wages in other industry and less pressure, I am struggling to replace them. If I put my wages up to keep staff I will have to raise fee’s and I would lose families who just can’t afford it. We need the government to protect the industry and the lovely new reforms that you guys brought in by respecting what we do, acknowledge our qualifications we have and pay us in accordance with these qualifications.
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You do not get paid less than a third of a primary school teachers wage. For a serious discussion, there are a few people severely exaggerating how low childcare wages are. The highest paid, most experienced senior teachers still only make in the vicinty of 80k/pa. Starting teachers in the school system earn less than 60k. A bottom rung childcare worker earns about 30k and a childcare Director earns on average 52-58k.
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Lucinda I did not add sorry that I have been in the industry for 12 going on 13 yrs and I have spoken to fellow teachers who have been in their career for the same time or maybe a little more, I get the base award rate compared to my friend who is getting close to two 3rds more than myself, it may not be like that for every Director but in my case. Take away my issue and compare a diploma qualified educator been in the industry 10 years to a Diploma qualified sheet metal worker or trademen’s, our wages are ridiculious low for the responsibilities.
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Yes Lucinda I can see how you think earning 30k is completely justified. How many directors do you think there can be in one centre??
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I did not say that 30k for a base, unqualified childcare worker was justified or that it should not be higher, nor did I say that Directors are paid a high enough wage. I said that Directors are NOT paid one third of the pay of the average school teacher. The highest paid teachers in the country are in the most intense private schools where the jobs are incredibly stressful and the pressure is extreme- they may be earning up to 100K. Even if the teachers Sheri is referring to are one of these, she would have to be earning 35k to be on a third of the wage. Either she or the teachers Sheri knows have miscalculated the difference in wages.
However I do agree that wages are far too low in the industry.
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I agree – childcare fees should be TAX DEDUCTIBLE (where both parents are working). It is a necessary expense to earn income. That way, women will have equal opportunity to continue with their job/career without childcare fees leaving us wondering whether all the hard work is worth it!
GILLARD, please stop taking from the middle income families to distribute to the lower income. We work very hard to afford a few luxuries and yet we keep getting screwed. We get NO goverment beneftis apart from the CCR (which should be a tax deduction anyway in my opinion), we pay high taxes, we pay the flood levy, we have either a Medicare Levy Surcharge or reduced health fund rebates, the medical offset has been drastically reduced (to only 10% over $5000 out of pocket)… we wonder why we even bother working 10 hour days when we could just sit back, collect government benefits and use the public health system? You are making the WELFARE TRAP worse with all these reforms. Please DO NOT remove the childcare rebate (or means test it) unless childcare becomes tax deductible.
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DEEWR have done some modelling where families would actually be worse off under a tax deductibility model than current child care rebate.
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I think its ridiculous that people think having childcare fees tax deductible is a reasonable proposition. Caring for your children is a parental responsibility. If you cant care for them yourself you must delegate that responsibility to someone else. So of course you should pay for that privelege. Its insulting to the many parents who go without to care for their own children themselves to think others want their childrens care being a tax deduction. Utterly shameful.
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Anon, I take it you are against all parenting payments, then? Including family assistance, child care benefit etc? Are you also against public funding for schools because you say parents should have responsibility for paying for all their children’s needs? Anyway, working families DO pay for their children even with the childcare rebate or a tax deduction for childcare fees because the taxes we pay far outweigh any “benefit” we get back via a childcare rebate.
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Parenting payments help families raise their children. However, childcare fees are a payment to someone who is doing the job of the parent in their absence. End of story.
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Right, so you think a women’s job is to stay at home and look after the children. Even if it means the family can’t support itself financially and must therefore rely on parenting payments funded by other hard working taxpayers.
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Its a families responsibility to care for their children or pay for that care if they are unable to do so themselves. Thats all.
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I disagree. High quality learning experiences are inherently essential for children under 4 years old. This is not a babysitting service – all children should be having some form of learning experience through play.
The critical period for higher cognitive development is 9 – 48 months, making it essential that high quality, enriched learning experiences are delivered during this time.
Cognitive development impacts health outcomes, education levels and quality of life for children into adulthood.
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Well said, when I was studying to be a nurse, plus working 10 hours a week and many weeks of placements. My partner and I earned ‘too much’, even with myself studying i had to pay full daycare fees with unemployed people bringing their children in for $5 a day.
What is wrong with this country that we reward the ones doing nothing.
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I’m a babysitter/child carer qualified and I run a babysitting business. When will babysitters be able to offer parents CCB and CCR? In some cases we are a cheaper option for parents.
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Hi Corryn, parents really value the work that babysitters do.
The type of care that is subsidised by the Government through CCB and CCR must meet minimum standards so that all children can engage in play based learning programs led by trained early childhood educators and so that we can ensure all children are cared for in safe environments.
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SEE?? She did NOT bother to answer the tough question re “Gillard, stop taking from middle class families who work so hard to earn a better wage yet are slammed every which way they turn.
Often are still paying massive hec debt, and get cut no slack at all.
She didn’t even answer Corryn’s question properly, just gave a stock standard pollie answer!!!
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You honestly cant expect 2 women who have never had to use the childcare system to be able to answer actual questions about parenting issues…at least Abbott’s wife works in childcare!
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“I think it would be folly to expect that women will ever dominate or even approach equal representation in a large number of areas simply because their aptitudes, abilities and interests are different for physiological reasons” – Tony Abbott
Yeah, I’m not confident in his views about anything that concerns women
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The Government’s goal is to get women back to work and pay tax. I love my job but for me to go back to work I need quality daycare so I am able to happily leave my children and concentrate on work (pay them better), and I’d like to take some cash home at the end of the day after I’ve paid the fees.
The centre I chose was in the city next to my office so I could breastfeed, $117/day. I have 2 children attending now. My salary is halved, and that is with the rebate. My mortgage repayments are $1600 a fortnight, 3 bed townhouse 8kms from city. Thankfully my husband salary pays for that with not much left over. I thought we’d moved on from 1960, but I still find it difficult to justify going to work after having children.
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Childcare is a work-related expense and should be treated as such by the Government. It should be a tax deduction. This is not a women’s issue but a productivity issue. There are many women for whom traditional daycare is incompatible with their working life, but would be fantastic contributors to the economy.
Most workplaces do not allow women to take more than 1 year off when they have a child. It follows that child care for under 3s should be easily available to allow women to return to work. In my area, there are minimum 6 month wait lists to get into long day care.
Given that under 3 is a critical time in a child’s development, I don’t understand why this segment of the childcare market is left to the free market. The ELYF is a good start, but when there is little choice, and the owners of childcare are in it for profit (as they are in my area, although not all long day cares are), how can parents be guaranteed the level of service that their young children deserve? It is impossible to change daycares without a minimum 6 month lag! Owners can also eject parents and children without notice, close centres for refurbishment for up to 10 days without notice and increase prices without reason or notice. I think that all of these centres should be publicly owned, or at least regulated strictly to ensure that quality is assured and demand is met.
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Alley
Hi Alley, a lot of things here!
I’m glad to hear you like the new Early Years Learning Framework.
We do regulate centres to ensure minimum standards are met as it’s really important for children’s wellbeing and development.
If you have specific concerns about your centre’s practices I suggest you contact your state’s child care regulation authority to discuss them because they do have to meet standards.
That said, there are some operational issues which are up to the centres to manage eg closures etc and its worth raising this with them or you could shop round. There’s information on vacancies in your area on mychild.gov.au.
It is often tough to find child care places when and where parents need it. We touched on that in our discussion with child care providers with the PM yesterday and I think we do need to look at breaking down barriers to access and planning.
Regarding tax deductibility, we’ve had a close look at it compared to the current system.
It would have made sense when the Child Care Rebate was 30% like it was under the former Liberal Government, but a majority of families would actually be hundreds of dollars worse off under tax deductibility compared with the current system.
That’s because the Labor Government increased the Child Care Rebate up to 50% of out of pocket child care costs.
Also, under tax deductibility, parents would have to wait to the end of the financial year to claim fees instead of receiving assistance fortnightly which would make it tough to balance the family budget.
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The CCR is 50% of out of pocket fees….but my CCR is not actually 50% of my out of pocket fees.
I pay $110 per day for my 18month old daughter (the only place available within 8 months in any daycare within an hour of where I live), and am paying $840 some dollars of the $1100 f/n Im charged in fees. Im pretty sure some of that cost we arent paying is the minimal CCB we get,. I have always been confused as to how the CCR was 50%, if Im paying 80% of the fees, even after the CCB and CCR have been deducted?
Just thought that since this came up, you might be able to clarify for me. I havent been able to work it out.
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Kate,
Regulation is one thing, and I don’t dispute that we do have high level care due to the quality framework in place, but the government seriously needs to be looking at incorporating the responsibility of the early childhood years into overall education – birth to year 12, not K-12.
Development in children under 4 years impacts health, education, social status and general life outcomes for their entire adult life.
It is too late by primary school to correct deficits in social, cognitive and emotion skills without one on one assistance, so the kids that are behind at this stage almost never catch up.
I don’t think you have answered the question as to why this absolutely critical time in a child’s development is left to the free market rather than provided by the government like primary and secondary education.
Every dollar spent on a child 0-4 saves four dollars in adult support services.
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Childcare is a parental responsibility. If you are not caring for your kids yourself you must pay for someone else to do it for you. Regardless of what you are doing with your time. The old work related expense argument is really ridiculous.
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At our childcare centre we have had 5 Kindegarten Teachers in 17 months and now we are on to our 6th Kindergarten Teacher. The vast majority of our Kindergarten Teachers have left to get better pay elsewhere. The others were temporarily filling in so that we fulfilled the government requirement of having a Kindergarten Teacher for 40 weeks of the year. Otherwise we would have had to return all the government funding of the Kindergarten Teacher position for the entire year. It is extremely difficult to attract and retain Kindergarten Teachers. A Kindergarten Teacher at a childcare centre must have the same qualification as an early childhood teacher at a government school. ie. They need to have an early childhood education degree and/or be a registered teacher. However, they are paid under a different award and their pay is a lot less. How does this equate with quality care and raising the standards of the Kindergarten Program when the children cannot even effectively bond with the Kindergarten Teachers in order to grow and learn successfully? Our scenario is mirrored in other centres. This dire situation certainly does not fit in with the Kindergarten Teachers Guideline and the Early Years Learning Framework both administered by the government, which are based on the concepts of ‘Being, Belonging and Becoming.’
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I have more of a comment than a question… working daily with vulnerable families investing in early years education is crucial to pulling the next generation out of poverty and disadvantage. Many families start from a place of disadvantage, and the research clearly demonstrates that these children don’t catch up, unless an enourmous amount of intervention is provided. Even looking from a purely economical stance, research supports that it costs governments and society less to provide early supports. With the upcoming research in epigentics (the knowledge base around how environments and experience can turn genes off and on) it is vital to provide disadvantaged families with early childhood services, in order to intervene and provide the next generation with a flying startv!
On a personal level, as a single Mum, I very much appreciate the rebates and CCB, it has allowed me to afford to work. I think that JET childcare needs to be extended as two years is not enough for people that are doing a university degree. I am very pleased to see that university trained educators are starting to emerge in child care centres. I would like this to continue and have more university early childhood trained educators throughout the other rooms as their job is so vital and impacts for a lifetime.
Best wishes Julia Gillard.. I very much support all the work that your government is doing!
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Kylie, exactly the points I’ve raised. I use JET, which is brilliant, but my degree (to be a primary teacher) is for 4 years. I’m lucky in that I can afford a small amount weekly to build a stash with our centre.
I have no problem with JET being restricted, but I don’t see why it can’t be restricted to the duration of, say, one course per kid, whatever the duration of the course is. Surely it’s better for everyone to give that help for study/training so you can be employed in a higher earning capacity sooner and start paying taxes from a higher salary?
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ECTs (uni trained teachers) have been working in child care for a long time now. If we introduce too many ECTs into all rooms as you suggest, we may face a situation where the cost of care becomes too high for disadvantaged families or families in the lower/middle class. In which case they may be forced to seek informal care that does not offer the advantages of an early learning centre which you mention above.
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Unless it is provided through government education funding as primary and secondary education is.
Since it is essential to cognitive, social and emotional development, and impacts on health and quality of life outcomes, it should really be the case that there is a tertiary qualified educator in every room, not just kinder
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You are absolutely right about the importance of investing in the early years.
Some economists have suggested that the rate return for every dollar invested in Early Childhood Education and Care is up to $3.
The Labor Government is investing $22.3 billion over the next four years in early childhood education and care, triple that of the last government.
We’re doing it because we understand the importance of the first five years of child’s life to their development.
Part of our investment was to double the number of years that people could claim Jobs Education and Training (JET) Child Care Fee Assistance from one to two years.
Our focus is on ensure more people can access this important program not to extend the length of assistance even further. We have recently announced in the Budget that we will fund large growth in the program to support 130, 000 families over the next four years.
From 2015 long day care centres will be required to have a an early childhood teacher present. We’re also working with the states to increase preschool hours for all children up to 15 hours per week.
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Thank you for your reply Kate.
Geoff, that is great that there are qualified teachers in your area, in mine it is only just being introduced. It is not the norm and the last centre my child was at I was told that until it is mandatory they will not employ a ECT.
My feelings are that education in the early years should be government funded, like public schools.
This is a really interesting report on early years education, disadvantage, socioeconomics, brain development etc..
http://earlyyearsstudy.ca/media/uploads/report-pdfs-en/i_115_eys3_en_web_2nd_ed.pdf
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I too am a child care educator and have embraced the name change, seeing it as a little acknowledgement for the hard work that we do! Our job doesn’t stop when we go home, we are always thinking of things to extend children’s interests and development with… Sitting down at the computer for leisure doesnt happen, we sit down and find ourselves searching for resources for ‘our’ children. The children we as educators care for are our life!
Whilst having 6 years experience as a group leader in a childcare centre (after completing 18 months of self funded study) I still remained to get nothing more than a teenager working at a department store did. Whilst struggling to pay the rent and put food on the table I decided to venture into a different sector and became a family daycare provider however whilst I am receiving slightly better pay I am also working MANY MANY more hours to do so. On average I work 55 hours a week and am unable to increase fees to cover costs as families are struggling with the fees as it is. If parents can’t afford the extra then I will loose the children in my care and therefore loose more income than keeping my fees stable. As a result I am currently searching for ‘other’ work in an unrelated industry. Whilst I LOVE my job I am in search of a career that will allow me to enjoy life and stop the constant battle I face when bills arrive. I believe I won’t be the only educator to do this if the wages for child care educators does not increase.
Seems a waste of more than 6 years in the same industry with very little recognition.
Therefore I would like to see a wage increase across all sectors including family day carers themselves.
WE EMBRACED THE EYLF … NOW IT’S TIME TO EMBRACE US!!!
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I agree with most of the debates that have been raised but I would like to ask this question, Why are trainees only being paid $9 per hour for the same job load? They put in the time, are doing the training and need to cover everyday expencies like everyone else. How are we to encourage anyone to enter the childcare sector when they are looking at $9 per hour for their time and effort. At that rate it doesn’t even cover the rent per week.
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Childcare workers provide a service that all Australian’s need. Without working Mums and Dads Australian people will not continue to reep the benefits of our propsperous community. Dedicated child care educators are integral to the sustainability of our workforce and the development of our children, so they become respectable contributors to our country. Childcare workers need to be paid professional wages to help ensure that an educated high performing workforce can be attracted and maintained.
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Des – Early childhood workers are making an incredible difference to the next generation of Australians. The aim of the National Quality Agenda is to increase professionalism in the sector by emphasising the importance of qualifications. We believe that increasing professionalism across the sector is a really important aspect of improving workplaces and career opportunities, and this will have a positive impact on wages and the retention of quality educators in the sector.
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Why is it that early childhood education is viewed by the federal government as a way of getting women back into the workforce rather than as primarily the education of young children in their critical years of cognitive and social development? I say this because i work in a not-for-profit preschool where the fees are $53 a day with essentially no rebates available as it is NSW state funded but in the long day care centre across the road the fees with the %50 CCR rebate are $50. The differences being 9am-3pm care with no food provided versus 7.30am-6pm care with meals provided. What that says to me is that the government believes people who are working and using long day care are more entitled to rebate support than those who maybe chose to have one parent stay home and put their child into school hours care only. Aside from all the important points about wages and the disguisting state they are in for childcare workers there is also the issue of how services are viewed in a fragmented way and funded differently across the state governments and then the federal governments. Half of our parents think they are entilted to CCb and CCR in preschool and its not until the start with us that they realise how expensive it is…and we are average for metro sydney.
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I have worked in child care since I was 17, it was 1998 when I finished high school. I studied at the same time and completed my Diploma in 2002. I am currently still employed as a Group Leader in Child Care. Throughout this time I have seen many changes in the industry. The current EYLF has been embraced by myself and the centre I work at. At times it has been challenging and difficult to adjust to and after a year and a half of solid practical workplace training, seminars and on the job application, I do believe the format implementation was well overdue and is an excellent approach for Childhood educators to be following. However, the wage of Child Care Educators and our current job title continues to be disregarded, whilst the main focus in Child Care related events are directed towards the of growing increase of child care costs for families. I understand these issues are important and need to be addressed, however, child care is a huge money making industry. It is the hard working employees in this industry who are often forgotten about when it comes to making profit. It is NOT ‘just a job’, or ‘babysitting’ (as it once was when I was first in the industry) These days, children in care are educated and cared for based on the individual child, catering to emotional, developmental, cultural, physical needs and many more on a daily basis. Many parents have expressed their appreciation to myself and others in the industry for providing the highest level of care and ‘relief’ to know that their child is being well looked after whilst they are at work or studying, Many parents feel ‘guilty’ for having their child in care, and it is my objective to ensure that each child in my care feels safe and secure whilst being given the tools to explore and extend on their own growing interests as individuals. By no means is this ‘simple’ or ‘easy’. It is a task that requires patience, respect, empathy as well as excellent time management and people skills, the ability to work as part of a team and computer literacy. Each day is different, we need to be flexible in order to account for each childs needs and own routine, which can also change from day to day. We deal with all sorts of situations working with young children, we form strong bonds and attachments with them that continue throughout their time in our care. A a girl I looked after when I first started my job contacted me on facebook. She was a pre schooler back then and almost 18 years old now. She tells me she has fond memories of her time in care and said that I was someone she felt safe with when things weren’t great at home. We do amazing things!!! Our product, at the end of each day are self-confident, involved, capable children. We are enriching and empowering the minds of the future and not for our own profit or financial gains. I believe the wage issue has come to this point because those of us in the industry are selfless, caring women (and men) who have a genuine love their job, not the pay packet. sadly many of us are being forced to seek work elsewhere. As a part time/permanant Group Leader, I am 32 years old, working in the industry for close to 14 years. I am currently paid $22.33 an hour before tax. It just doesn’t seem right. I work a 70 hour fortnight and have 2 young school age children of my own. I am a single mother and am considering seeking employment elsewhere, as my current wage is barely enought to cover household expenses, nor allows me to give my own children more opportunities in regards to education, recreational sports and activities. The industry is continuing to lose high numbers of experienced, irreplacable staff due to the high cost of living and the fact that our job description is not financially recognised as professional. We are hard working, reliable employees. We spend countless hours doing paperwork that is barely recognised by parents, let alone the Australian Government. It’s just time to speak up and say how we feel, we deserve better. Not only will continued ignorance in this matter damage the Child Care Industry, it cost Australian children by decreasing the availability of well experienced, qualified Childhood Educators.
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Wow- well said Carly! Hang in there…you seem to be one of those exceptional educators in the industry who truly care about children and their future. I imagine if you did find yourself unable to remain in the industry it would be a huge loss to the centre and its staff and families but at the end of the day you need to do what’s best for you and your situation. Let’s hope that the discussion continues and begins to really stir up the masses to force change for better wages.
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I am a mum of 3 children 2 at day care and one at school. I am also a educator in the early childhood industry. Why is it that we work and work and work and all i see is increased fee’s but my wage does not increase. Also my work load has increased since rolling out the early years framework. What are you going to do for all these hard working people in the industry.
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all this talk about how the EYLF has improved quality care for children and CCB & CCR has improved affordability for parents, thats great…. now what is going to inprove for Early Childhood Educators??? The pay rates are a joke and society is counting on the fact that we all love our jobs and “our” kids so we will just keep doing it. I do love my job and the children in my group but I for one am looking for another job…maybe I’ll go stack the shelves at the supermarket, my friend does that and she makes more $$ than I do…and if she stuffs up no one’s going to sue her…
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We have fantastic new reforms in the Early Childhood sector. We have great subsidies for families. But with Educators leaving the industry in droves what is being done to support them? I’m not talking about training and support I’m talking about wages. What industry get paid a minimum wage for such a highly legislated and demanding job? Wages reflect the professionalism. Wages reflect the training. Wages reflect the responsibility. So what are you doing about wages???
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Hi Julia , my child is attending kinder at a daycare center i am not currently working as I can only afford for my child to go to daycare 2 days a week as its already costing me and my partner with the childcare rebate $46 a week we can barely afford that as it is as my partner has been looking for work in the past three years and can not get anything…so i would like to know if at any stage will parenting payment partnered be increased or the childcare rebate be in increased??? as after paying rent food and bills we are stuggling to even pay for her to go to kinder. The child care fees seem to keep climbing soon we she will not be able to attened . please help. kind regards Natalie Davies
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Natalie, I don’t quite understand. You are not working as you can only afford 2 days childcare. Is it not possible to find a part time job for 2 days per week? Also, if your partner is not working and has not been working for 3 years, can’t he look after your child while you go to work? If both of you are not working, do you expect taxpayers to continue to pay for your childcare so that the 2 of you can go on romantic dates during the week?
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Curious,
Obviously you have not been on the dole in recent years,genuine people looking for work can barely afford to get the work they need,the Government denied them even a modest rise of $10 as their income is gobbled up in rent and utilities and costs are
still rising. Re :ACOSS Report 2012 .
When on the dole, those that are genuine as i perceive Natalie and partner to be, find life as hard as anyone one this page,walk in their shoes then you are qualified to be critical .They may receive additional financial help like workers do and why not they have children too ,but they do not have the income as you and others have, and do not have the grand life on the dole as you elude to ,re: romantic dates during the week ,otherwise Natalie would not have cared to express her views on this page!
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You worked us out curious – we’re all just partying down at your expense on the probably $40 pf we have left after rent and food – although maybe I should use that to chip away at the electricity bill…
Child care is not babysitting for lazy dole bludgers – it’s essential developmental education for young children.
Unfortunately there isn’t the option to pick and choose the days you want to work in most jobs.. and you have to take childcare based on available vacancies
Hope that satisfies your curiosity
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I think we need to change parental attitudes to early childhood education. Most parents believe they are sending their children to child CARE, not realising that their child is gaining an education that will impact on their life long learning. I’m an experienced early childhood teacher, and if I were in a different field, with the same amount of experience and a 4 year degree I know that I would be earning double what I’m currently earning. We don’t even earn what primary teachers earn, yet hold a 4 year degree just like they do, only for a different age group. Seriously, the modern award did not do us any favours, it just took as three steps back!!!
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I read KDot’s daily comments every day, and for a while there her educators were so surprised and flattered that I would mention something that they’d written about with them. I love reading stuff like, eg, Monday’s comment “The weather was great so we spent most of the day playing outside. We got the bikes out, Eddie and Seb had a great time riding the bikes. KDot was running either towards them or away from them, no-one could really work it out, but was having a fantastic time either way!”. But yeah, they said it was so nice to know that a parent was actually reading their notes!
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