McNamara, Justine

Many Australian families are juggling paid work with raising children. Child care, both formal andinformal, makes this intricate balancing act possible.The decision around whether to return to work after having children is not an easy one. Child care isexpensive and families have to manage many important financial, family and social obligations.Families making the difficult decision about a return to work have to not only consider upfront childcare costs, but also the potential impact of paid work on the Government benefits they may receive.Where a person lives will also have a big impact on their child care costs, with some daily rates as highas $170 a day.An important focus of this report is the affordability of child care for families and the impact child carecosts have on the decision to work. The report outlines the trends in child care use and costs and thenconsiders the complicated interactions between returning to work, the loss of Government benefitsand the costs of increasing child care use.There is great variation in the cost of child care across the country and the report explores Australia’smost and least affordable regions.The Government subsidises child care through a number of benefits, but the current system isexpensive and complicated. The report considers Government benefits received by families using childcare and their effectiveness and explores possible alternative support systems.While providing benefits to working parents is expensive, Australia needs women to work andcontribute to the tax system to help the nation manage the cost of an ageing populatio

Child Care in Australia: Affordability, Availability and Subsidies

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