Review Childcare Fee Hikes

Recently childcare providers increased fees. While annual fee increases inline with CPI inflation are expected, many childcare providers increased fees much higher.

Notably, ABC Learning Centres, Australia's largest childcare provider, increased fees by 11%. This represents an increase of approximately $6 per day per child raising the average daily cost to $62. The 11% fee increase is also approximately 3 times that of previous increases.

While the rhetoric from childcare providers rationalise these fee hikes according to wage increases, increased operating costs etc, the timing of the increases appears to represent blatant profiteering from the new childcare tax rebate announced in the Federal Budget. This rebate is aimed at improving childcare affordability for families and to ease the cost of living, NOT to increase the profits of childcare organisations (some of which are have been publicly documented as being financial trouble).

Childcare Fee Hikes - A protest and call for government approval of future increases

Childcare is a necessary service and the government needs to take steps to ensure its affordability. As such, this petition represents a protest against the current childcare fee increases and calls for the Federal Government to implement a system whereby major childcare providers will be required to submit request for increasing childcare fees to the Senate, or another government body, for approval.