New Laws – Childcare Fees Rise

The Daily Telegraph

WORKING parents are facing a hefty rise in childcare fees of up to $200 a week because of a radical overhaul of childcare in NSW.

Childcare centres are preparing for regulations which require one carer for every four children. Current regulations require one carer for every five children aged under two.

The lower ratio is aimed at improving the quality of childcare but a Daily Telegraph survey has found parents will be the hardest hit.

In a Daily Telegraph phone survey of 158 child care centres throughout metropolitan Sydney and across the state, operators were asked whether they planned to increase fees as a result of the 1:4 ratio and if they would meet the new regulation by reducing the number of places offered for babies or by hiring more staff.

The survey found 42 per cent of centres in metropolitan Sydney and 79 per cent of centres in regional NSW would raise their fees this year by between $1 and $40 a day, with the average fee increase adding up to $30 a week to childcare costs.

Thirty-four per cent of centres had not yet decided on a price increase. The changes are being rolled out by the State Government to fit new federal standards but private childcare operators said the changes will make childcare unaffordable and result in fewer places for newborns and younger children.

Families will be forced to pay the equivalent of two interest-rate rises a month for full-time child care.

And nearly 20 per cent of operators plan to reduce the number of childcare positions available to comply with the new regulations.
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