Legislation that will allow the government to strip funding from childcare centres failing to meet safety standards will be introduced today, following a raft of alleged abuse instances at centres across the country.
However, the threshold at which funding might be removed from a centre appears unclear, after separate Labor ministers articulated different applications of the framework in media interviews this morning.
Education Minister Jason Clare said on ABC News Breakfast that the powers would allow the government to strip funding after a single breach of standards, if a “show cause” notice is not addressed.
“This will give us the power to issue a show cause notice to a centre and say we will shut it within 28 days unless they meet that minimum standard, or to set conditions on them as well,” he said.
However, Minister for Early Childhood Education Jess Walsh this morning said repeat offences would trigger the loss of funding.
Speaking on ABC RN Breakfast this morning, Walsh said the legislation meant decisions on funding could be made on “repeat offenders, those providers, those services that persistently and consistently fail to meet standards and fail to keep our children safe”.
Childcare centres currently receive approximately $16 billion in annual funding from the government, through the Childcare Subsidy. This funding covers around 70 per cent of most childcare centre’s operating costs.
The proposed legislation will be entered into parliament shortly, alongside further detail on it’s functioning.