COVID-19

Member for McEwan says more needs to be done to reduce ECEC fees post COVID-19

Freya Lucas

Nov 11, 2021

Save

Member for McEwen Rob Mitchell has called on the Federal Government to intervene and reduce the cost for early childhood education and care (ECEC) service provision, and to guarantee no fee increases by services in order to allow families in his electorate to financially recover from the challenges of COVID-19.

Mr Mitchell’s electorate of Wallan-to-Whittlesea in Victoria has one of the largest populations of children aged between birth and five years of age in Australia, many of whom reside in families which have been directly impacted by months of lockdown in 2020 and 2021.

During the lockdown period many families withdrew children from care due to health and safety concerns, restrictions on attendance, or to save money.

“As we recover from the pandemic those families need affordable childcare,” Mr Mitchell told local news source The North Central Review. Instead, he said, “they have been hit with even more annual fee hikes this year”.

Mr Mitchell claims that in February 2021, following a moratorium on fee rises as part of COVID-19 relief packages, fees jumped 2.4 per cent, more than double the rate of inflation.

From 2016 to 2020, childcare fees have increased from $476 per week to $546 in Victoria, he continued. Over the same period nationally, the number of people who were not working because they were caring for children at home due to the cost of childcare increased by 23 per cent.

“The current childcare system is not designed to get everyone back to work. Parents want to go back to work or do more hours but find it just isn’t worth it because they cant afford extra care for their kids,” Mr Mitchell said in closing.

To access the original coverage of this story, please see here.

Don’t miss a thing

‘Pandemic babies’ turn 5: Here’s what research tells us about their development and remarkable resilience

Early brain development lays the foundation for lifelong health and success. But disruptions to a child’s early environment can leave a long-lasting imprint on their development and success.

COVID research highlights impact of restrictions on children younger than six

The COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent restrictions such as social distancing, school closures and business disruptions attracted large swathes of research, much of which focused on school aged children.

In WA, it’s school time for the ‘COVID babies,’ with teachers worried about social skills

In Western Australia children can start their first year of compulsory schooling (known as pre-primary) in the year they turn five by 30 June.

Tech time, pandemic pauses and fewer books is causing speech to diminish

Teachers of children in their first year of school are noticing marked changes in children’s speech, placing the blame on more time spent using technology, children listening to fewer books, and the isolation of the COVID-19 lockdowns as the cause.

COVID-19 caused a cascading effect of economic stress in many families

Economic insecurity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a cascading effect of connected problems for some families, researchers from Ohio State University have found, making links to higher levels of depressive symptoms for parents, which was then associated with poorer relationship quality for the couples, and poorer mental health outcomes for their children.

‘Pandemic babies’ turn 5: Here’s what research tells us about their development and remarkable resilience

Early brain development lays the foundation for lifelong health and success. But disruptions to a child’s early environment can leave a long-lasting imprint on their development and success.