Hobsons Bay’s family day-care providers have had a budget win after the council announced it would scrap a proposed levy amounting to $572 for each educator per year.
But the decision leaves the council with a $230,000 funding shortfall for the sector from next month due to changes proposed under the federal budget.
Family day-care refers to child-care provided in the home for children aged six weeks to 12 years, with cheaper ratios and costs than in child-care centres.
Seaholme’s Kylie Swan, who is among more than 50 family day-care educators in the municipality, said there were concerns about how the shortfall would be dealt with.
“There’s a possibility on a federal level that we will lose our community support program funding because Hobsons Bay actually doesn’t meet any of the eligibility criteria that the Abbott government has set,” she said.
Under the proposed legislation, Hobsons Bay would be ineligible for federal funding because it was not a rural area.
She said the council stood to lose a significant portion of funding which would jeopardise family day-care on the whole. The council-run scheme was more at risk because if it couldn’t pay for itself, it wouldn’t continue.
“Eventually, parents will have to wear the cost … Carla Northam, who’s the CEO of Family Day Care Australia, estimates that to be about $35 a week on top of what families are already paying for child-care.”
Numerous educators in their budget submissions to the council questioned the legality of a new levy, given their current contracts with the council did not expire until September 30.
Mayor Sandra Wilson said the reason for withdrawing the levy was the financial burden it would have placed on families.
“Following further evaluation of the proposed family day-care educator’s levy … it is not intended to proceed with the levy because of its cost on carers and families,” she said. “There is also uncertainty associated with proposed changes by the Australian government to family day-care scheme funding that will, if introduced, deem council ineligible for funding estimated at $230,000 from July, 2015.”
