Minister commits to investigate sector’s concerns with Govt’s $1.2b childcare policy

Associate Education Minister Jo Luxton is reportedly looking into the possibility of an independent review of early childhood education funding and the sector’s concerns about the Government’s $1.2 billion expansion to 20-hours-free childcare.

It comes after almost the entire ECE sector signed a letter to Luxton and Education Minister Jan Tinetti, saying Budget 2023′s flagship policy to extend 20-hours free childcare per week to 2-year-olds is completely unworkable and will degrade the quality of childcare, limit the stock of educators and increase the hundreds of services shutting up shop in recent years.

Luxton hosted nine ECE providers at Parliament yesterday and heard from each about their concerns about the policy. Tinetti was supposed to attend but didn’t. It was understood another engagement ran late and she could not make the meeting.

The sector’s problems with the policy centred around the funding for the 20-hours-free being based on a 1:10 teacher to child ratio. Many childcare centres operate at ratios between 1:4 to 1:8, which was a target of the Early Learning Action Plan 2019-2029.

However, under this policy, it was suggested centres were no longer able to request donations from parents, meaning centres could have to fund the difference or accept a teacher-child ratio that would lead to a lower quality of childcare.

It posed a significant threat to home-based childcare providers, which had a unique funding model as educators acted as contractors.

The policy was the latest problem that sector leaders say they had dealt with regarding funding and have repeated calls for an independent review into how childcare was funded.

New Shoots Children’s Centre director Kelly Seaburg, who was at the meeting, said Luxton committed to re-engage with the group within two weeks after investigating some of their issues with the 20-hours-free expansion and the potential of a review.

Seaburg said Luxton didn’t propose any possible solutions during the meeting, choosing instead to listen to providers.

“I do think that it was a session where she was gathering quite a lot of information and she was learning, we certainly felt that she was listening,” Seaburg told the Herald.

“I think it was a good first meeting.”

New Shoots Children’s Centre director Kelly Seaburg. Photo / Supplied

Seaburg said it was stressed to the minister that urgency was required in order to give parents, teachers and service providers certainty well in advance of the policy coming into force from March next year.

“As much as it would have been good to have seen some more concrete movement, we will in good faith give the associate minister the opportunity to look at this properly.”

Luxton yesterday said the meeting was “really constructive” and she was looking forward to working with sector leaders.

“I’ve got conversations that I’m going to be having with my officials to work through some of the things that they talked about,” she said.

“Now, I have an idea of some of the issues that this particular group raised today. I think it’s important that I also engage with other people within the sector as well to hear from them directly.”