UPDATE: Fixing the unintended consequences of the NSW Government’s “free preschool” funding for 2021

The Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW has been continuing to engage with the NSW Department of Education regarding the unintended negative consequences of the NSW Government’s “free preschool” funding that was extended to December 2021.

Although the NSW Government had intended the second year of “free preschool” funding to be their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ACA NSW believes their decision to be the cause of the following:

• potential instability for children in terms of their ongoing education and care;
• increase in vacancies that were not filled, thereby causing reduction of hours for educators;
• no measurable increase in workplace participation of parents;
• exploitation of “free” care by parents who would be ineligible for Child Care Subsidy; and
• creating uncertainties for children’s education and care after 2021 when the “free preschool” funding is concluded.

Out of the 263 services who identified themselves as having been negatively affected by the “free preschool” funding decision, the sample statistics of consequences are as follows:

A number of these services have also shared with the NSW Department of Education the feedback they have received from their parents who have chosen the “free preschool” option rather than staying at those long daycare services. The extracted feedback are as follows:

• FEEDBACK #1: Many of our parents have chosen to enrol their children into the neighbouring community preschool because it is free. The combination of “free preschool” evey for one year and the parents’ ability to work from home produce the perfect scenario for them at our expense. And this is despite both parents’ high income level (as estimated from their Child Care Subsidy percentage level).

• FEEDBACK #2: Since the free preschool that the government has implemented, our service ended up losing a large amount of children and this is due to the free preschool service. We need to fill spots in the centre in order to keep our educators going. As it is, our centre has cut down the hours of many staff due to the low numbers.

• FEEDBACK #3: A family who lives within a 5 minute walk of our centre terminated their daughter’s enrolment and now travel a further 4 kms to drop her off and pick her up from the grandmother’s home because she lives closrer to a centre funded by the NSW Department of Education offering free care.

• FEEDBACK #4: A parent chose to enrol their child into a community preschool funding for 2021. They enrolled their child across 2 community based preschools to obtain their 4 days of care. This family was not eligible for rebate as they earned too much (income over $300k) per year. What concerned me was the family’s ability to tap into multiple locations for free preschool.

• FEEDBACK #5: Parents complain, “why work and need long day care if you can just stay at home and send your child to care for free”.

ACA NSW will continue to engage with the NSW Minister for Education (the Hon Sarah Mitchell MLC) and the NSW Department of Education to fix this “free preschool” funding so that parents engage long daycare and community preschools more fairly and in the best interests of their child/ren.

PUBLISHED: 11 JUNE 2021