CareerMums welcomes child care rebate announcement in Budget 08

PRESS RELEASE - 14 MAY 2008

Kate Sykes of www.careermums.com.au welcomes the Government’s decision to implement a 50% child care rebate paid every three months. ‘Workplace flexibility and cost of child care prove to be a continual barrier in parents returning to work sooner. With a national skills shortage, women accounting for nearly half of the workforce, and child care costs rising by more than 12% per year, the spotlight on the cost of child care is long overdue.’

In a recent survey conducted by www.careermums.com.au, over 60% of respondents said that the introduction of a 50% child care rebate would make some difference or a huge difference in terms of re-entering the workplace or working more days.

‘So many women want to return to work but have found that the cost of care, particularly after their second child, creates a situation where it is not worth it financially. This child care rebate will certainly make a difference. No doubt the government will need to monitor child care rate increases as a result of the rebate.’

‘The next step is a national paid maternity leave scheme currently being reviewed by the Productivity Commission. Australia and the USA are the only 2 countries in the group of OECD countries that do not have a formal parental leave payment system. Therefore we should be looking to other countries to understand what works successfully. Australia is where most OECD countries were 10 years ago. Meanwhile, the more advanced countries are debating if their current policies, including paying parents 26 or more weeks of paid parental leave, are enough.’