On 19 August 2020, the NSW Premier (the Hon Gladys Berejiklian MP) and the NSW Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning (the Hon Sarah Mitchell MLC) announced that the NSW Government would extend their COVID-19 response funding to community and mobile preschool for a third term (ie, to Term 4).

It should be noted that long daycare services are eligible to receive Child Care Subsidies of up to 85% of the hourly rate caps, plus the additional 25% Transition Payments, as the Federal Government's COVID-19 response to funding arrangements till 27 September 2020. And community and mobile preschools, due to their operational arrangements, are not eligible to receive the Federal Government's Child Care Subsidies nor Transition Payments. That said, community and mobile preschools (other than those run by governments) should remain eligible for JobKeeper.

That said, without the certainty of funding arrangements from the Federal Government after 27 September 2020, this can create unintended negative consequences for long daycare services as it, directly and indirectly, compete with community and mobile preschools.

Also on 19 August 2020, the NSW Productivity Commissioner released its Green Paper confirming how the NSW Government can and has at times made decisions that conflict with its own policy of competitive neutrality. Such misalignment of funding arrangements made by the Federal Government and the NSW Government can have unintended negative consequences to services.

ACA NSW is calling on its members to e-mail to nsw@childcarealliance.org.au with actual examples of these unintended consequences. Confidentiality will be maintained unless services approve to allow ACA NSW to share specific examples with the government(s).

In the meantime, ACA NSW will discuss this matter with both tiers of governments about the funding arrangements till the end of 2020.

PUBLISHED: 20 AUGUST 2020