The federal government have just announced that they will introduce a new childcare system from Sunday.
Education Minister Dan Tehan said the new system will mean parents who are essential workers will get their childcare for free.
“What we will be doing is turning off the old system and going to a new system which will provide that relief to parents,” Mr Tehan said.
“The way it will work is that we will look at what 50 per cent of the fees up to the rate cap were in the fortnight before March 2 and we will pay you that amount on a fortnightly basis.”
He said the hope is that now all parents who will get the care they want and whose who have sought to disengage with the child care sector will re-engage with the sector.
Childcare centres will be urged to prioritise the needs of workers when it comes to providing care under the federal government’s new childcare system.
“We are going to ask the centres to prioritise and they should prioritise obviously those who need their children cared for because they are working and working where they can’t care for their children safely at home,” Education Minister Dan Tehan said.
“For them to prioritise as well vulnerable children who need that continuity of care as well and then to re-engage with those parents who have taken their children out of care to see whether they can be accommodated as necessary as well, but there is a clear priority list that we want centres to take into account.”
He said the most important of those are essential workers and the vulnerable children.
Photo Credit – iStock – SDI Productions
