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I. Executive Summary
Background
On 17 November 2013, the Government announced the establishment of a Productivity
Commission Inquiry into Child Care and Early Childhood Learning. The role of the
Productivity Commission was to identify how the current system can be improved and made
more responsive to the needs of Australian families.
With the Report recommendations being considered by the Government, there was a need
to consult with parents/ carers about possible child care financial assistance models,
including that recommended by the Productivity Commission.
The Department of Social Services (DSS) commissioned ORIMA Research to conduct
quantitative research to help inform the development of the Government’s future policy in
child care.
The key objective of the quantitative research was to gauge and quantify Australian families’
perceptions of, and likely behavioural responses to, a range of possible child care financial
assistance models, including:
This report presents the findings of that research
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II. Introduction
A. Background
On 17 November 2013, the Government announced the establishment of a Productivity
Commission Inquiry into Child Care and Early Childhood Learning. The role of the
Productivity Commission was to identify how the current system can be improved and made
more responsive to the needs of Australian families.
The Productivity Commission’s Final Report (the Report) was delivered to Government on
31 October 2014 and released on 20 February 2015. The Commission was asked to report
on ways to increase the affordability, accessibility and flexibility of child care. Some of the
key recommendations of the Report included:
♦ A single means-tested benchmark subsidy for the most used financial assistance
programs;
♦ Changes to the activity test to encourage workforce participation; and
♦ Shifting the use of nannies from the unregulated (i.e. informal) system to the
regulated (i.e. formal) system in order to increase the types of child care options
available to families.
With the Report being considered by the Government, there was a need to consult with
parents/ carers about possible child care financial assistance models, including that
recommended by the Productivity Commission.
The Department of Social Services (DSS) commissioned ORIMA Research to conduct
quantitative research to help inform the development of the Government’s future policy in
child care.
This report presents the findings of that research
B. Research objectives
The key objective of the quantitative research was to gauge and quantify Australian families’
perceptions of, and likely behavioural responses to a range of possible child care financial
assistance models.