Michael Sukkar MP

Child care in Deakin gets red tape relief

Federal Member for Deakin, Michael Sukkar, has announced local child care operators are set to get relief from red tape and regulations imposed on them by the former Labor government.

Mr Sukkar welcomed confirmation by Assistant Minister for Education Sussan Ley that Victoria had agreed to streamline Labor’s onerous National Quality Framework (NQF) legislation.

At the recent Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood (SCSEEC), Ms Ley noted that all State and Territory Governments shared the Federal Coalition’s view that amending national regulations was a priority to help relieve pressure on parents and the sector.

Minister Ley said: “The Coalition has a clear position to support high quality child care and early learning, but this needs to be delivered in a way which doesn’t make it unaffordable and inaccessible for families.

“The childcare sector has told us loud and clear Labor’s increased red tape and regulations are some of the main reasons forcing them to raise fees – well we’re listening.”

Hourly fees for long day care increased an average of 44 per cent during Labor’s six years in government.

Mr Sukkar said: “The changes we’re planning will be a significant first step in improving the rollout of the new National Quality Framework rules and requirements across Deakin.”

“It also complements our government’s decision to hold an over-arching Productivity Commission Inquiry into more affordable and flexible childcare options for young families.”

Some of the proposed changes agreed at SCSEEC were:

• Streamlining the ratings assessment process to improve waiting times for operators and reduce backlogs for State and Territory Governments
• Reducing the amount of regulations operators have to comply with – currently there are seven ‘quality areas’ that require compliance with 18 ‘standards’ and 58 ‘elements’ just to receive a quality rating – it’s a bureaucratic nightmare.
• Return the right for child care operators to appoint experienced staff to supervisor roles without having to apply for government certification or pay fee.
• Improved recognition for staff studying a relevant early childhood degree.
• Greater flexibility for the administration of basic first-aid on school sites.
• Bring requirements on safety glass back in line with the relevant Australian Standard, instead of the legislation setting a specific height.

“I will continue to work with each of the states and territories to formalise the changes and plan to make further announcements on this in the coming months”, Ms Ley concluded.