Childcare should be made free or cheaper for all families, regardless of their income or work status according to a new report. The centre for policy development's proposal would cost seven-billion dollars a year but advocates say it's money well spent.
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00:00Rebuilding a system for all.
00:04We're spending $15 billion on a system that isn't working.
00:0822% of children enter school developmentally challenged or vulnerable.
00:13Parents are choosing not to work when they'd like to because childcare is too expensive.
00:18While there's a desire to fix it.
00:20We certainly do have ambition for universal childcare.
00:24The question is how?
00:26A report by the Centre for Policy Development has made 10 recommendations it says will make childcare more accessible.
00:33Under the proposal, three days of free childcare would be offered to families with a combined income of $80,000 or less.
00:41Parents earning more would be asked to pay $30 for three days.
00:45Extra days would be charged at $15 each.
00:49For preschool, two free days would be offered to all with the third day charged at $10.
00:54The cost, $7 billion a year.
00:57It would pay for itself due to increases to GDP and to tax revenue, to decrease to health costs.
01:03It'll take that pressure off families and free women up to work and obviously benefit children.
01:09Parents groups say aside from educational benefits, it's about fairer access.
01:14Once a child turns five or six, we're really comfortable with them having free access to primary school and then secondary school and nobody asks what their parents earn.
01:22I'll be incredibly supportive of it.
01:23Government needs to step up and contribute.
01:25We need to support families when they need it.
01:28One, two, three, four.
01:30However, there's ongoing questions about staffing, the sector's already struggling with workforce shortages.
01:36The opposition is yet to confirm if it backs universal childcare, but the Prime Minister says it's desirable and possible.
01:44We think universal childcare is something that is valuable for families but also good for our economy.
01:52While the government is on board with cheaper childcare for all, it hasn't committed to a timeline.
01:57Instead, commissioning several reviews into the sector.
02:00One is due back at the end of this month.
02:03Regardless of what they recommend, experts say an overhaul would take at least a decade to complete.