The Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW welcomes the NSW Government’s Green Paper, released by the NSW Productivity Commissioner, confirming that there are NSW-specific regulations contributing to higher childcare costs than all other Australian states.

NSW Productivity Commissioner, Peter Achterstraat AM, highlighted the example that for NSW-based childcare centres and therefore parents, there can be a significant cost disparity of about 167% to 333% when compared against other states’ regulatory requirements for degree-qualified early childhood teachers.

Commissioner Achterstraat’s findings and draft recommendations uphold ACA NSW's public and long-held views that NSW-based services and parents are too often disadvantaged without any demonstrable benefit that can be measured against the National Quality Framework (that effectively is not nationally consistent).

Source: Education and Care Services National Regulations (NSW)

These regulatory costs are ultimately passed onto both parents and the Federal Government (when those parents are eligible for the Commonwealth’s Child Care Subsidies).

That said, especially because of COVID-19, ACA NSW has asked the NSW Government to financially offset more costly NSW-regulations in order to protect existing employees’ employment and to help parents with fee-affordability and ultimately cost parity with all other Australian states.

NSW-based services and parents are encouraged to support ACA NSW's request of the NSW Government by signing the online petition via https://www.change.org/nsw-gov-to-pay-for-nsw-specific-childcare-requirements.

PUBLISHED: 25 AUGUST 2020