FEDERAL Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce welcomed the introduction of legislation by the Turnbull Government to provide simpler, more affordable and flexible child care for local families in the New England Electorate.

 

Mr Joyce said the Turnbull Government would invest almost $40 billion over the next four years to provide greater child care choices for more than 1.2 million families across Australia under the Jobs for Families Child Care package.

 

“Our priority is to increase access to care for local families throughout  the New England who need it most, particularly working parents,”  Mr Joyce said.

 

“The current child care system is complex, with subsidies and programmes that are poorly targeted and not suited the needs of modern working families.”

 

Mr Joyce said the key elements of the package are:

• the new, simpler Child Care Subsidy, which will improve child care affordability;
• the Child Care Safety Net, which will improve accessibility; and
• the Nanny Pilot Programme, which will enhance flexibility.

“A feature of these reforms is the new Child Care Subsidy, which will improve child care affordability and replace the current, complex Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate with a single, means tested payment,” Mr Joyce said.

 

“The new Child Care Subsidy will start in July 2017 to help low and middle income families, which is great news for families in the the New England Region.

 

“Families using child care in 2017, with family incomes between $65,710 and $170,710, will be on average around $1500 a year better off under this package.

 

“Grandparents in the New England Electorate who are on income support and have primary care of their grandchildren will also be eligible for up to 100 hours of child care subsidy without having to meet the Child Care Subsidy activity test,” he said.

 

“These grandparents will receive a subsidy of 100 per cent of their fees up to a generous hourly fee cap – up to 120 per cent of the usual Child Care Subsidy cap,” Mr Joyce said.

 

“These reforms will give families in the New England Region the confidence that they can find child care that fits with their busy lives and that their children are getting the best possible care.”

 

For more information on the Jobs for Families Child Care Package visit: www.education.gov.au