A RECORD number of children ? 992,520 ? were in approved childcare in the September quarter last year, an increase of 9 per cent over the year.
The figures, to be released by the government today to blunt opposition attacks the system has become unaffordable, show 27.6 per cent of children aged up to 12 attend the nation?s 14,523 childcare services, which have increased by 3.2 per cent.
Figures for the whole are understood to show that the number of children in childcare has passed one million.
Long daycare took by far the greatest proportion of children, 61.2 per cent, followed by outside-school-hours care, 29.5 per cent, family daycare and in-home care, 11.7 per cent, and occasional care 0.8 per cent.
Childcare Minister Kate Ellis said the new figures showed an 8 per cent increase in the number of families using childcare.
?Never before have there been more children in Australian childcare or more government assistance subsidising their fees,? Ms Ellis said.
The Child Care Update shows more than 704,000 families used approved childcare services in the September quarter of last year.
?What these new figures show is that the out-of-pocket costs for a family with a combined income of $115,000 per year have fallen from 11.4 per cent under the Howard government to 7.7 per cent under this Labor government,? Ms Ellis said.
?The latest figures show that more Australian children have been accessing vital early learning opportunities, and we hope to see this continue to grow as improvements are made to the quality of early childhood education and care.
?This report provides an important reality check and shows that the opposition?s claims masses of families are being driven out of childcare services and forced into backyard care are just another one of Tony Abbott?s baseless negative scare campaigns.?
Julia Gillard convened an emergency summit with the childcare sector and unions last month to discuss reforms after conceding parents needed relief from rising costs and some families needed greater flexibility.
Moves to increase childcare flexibility come after the Opposition Leader vowed to have the Productivity Commission examine the possibility of extending the 50 per cent childcare rebate capped at $7500 a year to in-home carers, a move that gained traction with parents.
While Mr Abbott announced plans for an inquiry after the election, Ms Gillard is planning a policy change in coming months.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/million-kids-in-care-shows-system-works/story-fn59niix-1226457727663
Source: http://socato.org/?p=12995
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