A VICTORIA Point family day care provider says means testing of the childcare rebate for families is unfair.
The proposal was made public in a 904-page draft Productivity Commission report released this morning.
The report calls for two existing childcare subsidies to be replaced with a single payment that would be means-tested and paid directly to the parents' choice of provider.
It also proposes the rebate cover nannies who have a childcare certificate III in a bid to make childcare more flexible for families and shift workers.
According to the report, families on a combined income of $160,000 or more would have less of their childcare costs paid.
The recommendations would allow families a minimum of 30 per cent of their childcare fees to be reimbursed and families on very low incomes would get 90 per cent of their childcare fees back.
Victoria Point day care providers Sharon and Ross Raymond, both qualified educators, said the proposal would leave many middle-class Redland families struggling to afford child care.
Mr Raymond said a family with two children in full-time care would be about $120 a week worse off if the draft proposals are introduced.
He said under the current Child Care Benefit scheme, which is means tested, a family with a joint gross income of $160,000 receives a 60 per cent rebate.
The family also gets up to $7500 per child to cover out-of-pocket expenses under a second subsidy called the Child Care Rebate, which is not means tested.
"The draft report proposes to combine these two subsidies which we believe would leave a family with two children in full-time care about $120 worse off," Mr Raymond said.
Mrs Raymond, whose home-based business looks after up to four children a day, said some families who will be subjected to means-testing were already finding it difficult.
"It's the middle-income earners, who have both parents working, who are struggling and will not benefit from this draft proposal," she said.
"Lower earners, such as single mothers, will get up to 90 per cent of the cost of care so they stand to get more government help with their childcare benefit subsidy.
“Families will also lose out if they have more than one child in care their costs will rise and it may become unaffordable.”
In her report, Productivity Commissioner Dr Wendy Craik said she would continue to seek feedback before the report was finalised in October.
She said further options for assistance would also be considered.
“Our current system does not meet the needs of all families and the costs of supporting the current childcare system are increasing at an unsustainable rate,” she said.
The report claimed the measures would lead to 47,000 more full-time people getting jobs.
Federal Childcare Minister Sussan Ley said the government had received many complaints about the lack of support for shift workers and subsidies for in-home child care.
She said the government was still deciding whether to means test child care before the final legislation in October.
The Commission is inviting submissions on the draft report by September 5 and will hold public hearings in August.
MP URGES REDLAND PARENTS TO MAKE SUBMISSIONS
BOWMAN MP Andrew Laming said the government was committed to making child care more affordable, flexible and accessible and would invest $28.5 billion over four years.
He said the draft report was commissioned in recognition that the system was not meeting the needs of families in Redlands and across Australia.
“This is only a draft and I don’t want to pre-empt the Productivity Commission’s final report, which is due to the government in October.”
“I recommend everyone in the Redlands visits www.pc.gov.au/projects/inquiry/childcare before September 5 to comment on the report.”
“The more people who have their say, the better tailored it will be for families in Redlands.”
