TICKER VIEWS – What does increased childcare funding mean for women?

Australia invests $1.7 billion in Childcare to boost female workforce

The Australian federal government recently pledged to boost female workforce participation with a $1.7 billion investment in childcare. They say the changes will make childcare more affordable for around a quarter of a million families, meaning women can return to work earlier.

The budget expansion is a welcomed change for working families, increasing the subsidy up to 95% for families with more than one child aged five or younger. It also will remove the $10,560 cap on the Child Care Subsidy.

However, many experts argue that it doesn’t go far enough for women.

Samantha Page, CEO of Early Childhood Australia says although she welcomes any additional investment, she has several ‘hesitations.’

“The changes won’t be rolled out for over a year – that’s a long time to wait,” she said. She also raised concerns that the new rules may make the childcare subsidy program even more complicated.

Is the Morrison government falling flat on their promise of a female-friendly budget?

Although the budget expansion is a welcome change for working families, the question of whether it will make the workplace more equitable for women is still up for debate.

The Morrison government says the budget expansion seeks to remove disincentives for women returning to the workforce. Minister for Women’s Economic Security Jane Hume says the changes will help further close pay and participation gaps.

“These measures will help remove the barriers for parents, particularly mothers, to return to the workforce.”

Minister for Education and Youth, Alan Tudge

After months of protests sparked by several allegations of sexual harassment in the federal parliament, these changes feel relatively underwhelming.

Although the budget changes are a great step for working mothers, it may be too little, too late.

Women have been calling for an expansion of the Childcare subsidy package for years – yet the Morrison government has only chosen to roll out additional funding in the wake of huge protests across the country.

“We are still waiting for permanent funding for pre-school programs. And early childcare workers are still not being paid professional wages,” says Page.

More affordable childcare for low-income families

The Morrison government says the changes deliberately target low and middle-income earners. Around half the families set to benefit have a household income under $130,000.

The intention is to remove the burden of childcare costs, which is often a prohibitive barrier for parents, particularly mothers.

The level of child care subsidy is also tapered so that those families that earn the least receive the most. These subsidies apply at the same rate per child, regardless of how many children per family are in childcare.

This may help tackle gendered wealth inequalities too because the cost of childcare often disproportionately falls on women, says Page.

“While childcare should be a shared cost, the cost of childcare is often weighed up against the wage of the parent with a lower income. Which is more often than not the mother.”

Samatha Page, CEO of Early ChildHood Australia

However, Page says it still doesn’t go far enough for children and women at risk – particularly those in rural and complex environments.

“We are still waiting on equal access to education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders,” she says.

“We should be careful to frame the package as an investment in children and early education as well as women.”

What do Aussie Mums think?

Jessica is a Melbourne mother of two daughters. She owns her own hairdressing business and her husband is an electrician. She says that although everyone complains about high childcare fees, many parents “don’t have a choice”.

This sentiment was echoed by another Melbourne mum, Laura, who had her first daughter during the 2020 lock-downs across Victoria. She says that cheaper childcare fees mean that she’ll be able to send her daughter earlier.

At the moment, Laura works two days a week while her daughter stays with her grandparents. However, she says that without the support of her parents and parents-in-law, returning to work would’ve been much more difficult.

This idea was echoed by Page, who says we need to empower families to make the choice best fit for them.

“Women should have the choice to work, but that isn’t the end of the story. We still need to invest in more generous paid parental leave too.”