Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to announce a plan to make childcare more affordable for thousands of Australian families. Speaking at the Building Early Education for Australia’s Future event in Brisbane, Albanese will outline a key pledge ahead of next year’s election.
If re-elected, his government promises to provide families earning up to $530,000 a year access to childcare subsidies for three days a week. This proposal would scrap the current activity test, which ties subsidies to the number of hours parents work, in favor of a simpler and more inclusive system.
“This is about making early education accessible for everyone,” Albanese is expected to say. “Every child deserves quality, affordable early education, and we want to build a universal childcare system that is simple, affordable, and accessible for all families.”
The policy is part of Labor’s broader push toward universal early childhood education and aims to differentiate the government from the Coalition, which Albanese will criticize as being "stuck in the past" on childcare reforms.
The plan also comes with a significant financial commitment. The upcoming Budget update will reveal that Commonwealth funding for childcare subsidies is set to rise by $3.1 billion over the next four years, allowing an additional 200,000 children to benefit from early education opportunities.
With childcare costs and broader cost-of-living pressures top of mind for many Australians, this issue is expected to be a major focus in the upcoming election campaign. The Reserve Bank’s recent decision to hold interest rates steady has further underscored the importance of cost-of-living measures, making it a key battleground for political parties in the months ahead.
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