Wednesday, 26 January 2022
New data has confirmed out of pocket child care costs are out of control for Australian families under the Morrison-Joyce Government.
ABS CPI figures have shown over the twelve months to December 2021, the out of pocket cost of child care has soared by 6.5 per cent – almost double CPI (3.5 per cent).
Families in Canberra, Perth and Sydney have been hit particularly hard – with annual hikes of 8.8 per cent, 8.6 per cent, and 8 per cent respectively.
Nationally, the average out of pocket cost of child care is higher than it’s ever been.
At a time when real wages are going backwards, growing child care costs mean family budgets are getting tighter.
Yet, there is nothing in Scott Morrison’s child care changes to stop soaring fees.
Scott Morrison’s changes will only provide relief to a minority of families for a short period of time, and include nothing to put an end to skyrocketing fees.
By contrast, an Albanese Labor Government will make child care cheaper for 97 per cent of families in the system, regardless of how many children a family has in care.
Importantly, Labor will also task the ACCC with designing a price regulation mechanism to shed light on costs and fees, and drive them down for good.
Only Labor has a plan to bring down the cost of child care and keep it down.
