Childcare
Opinion
Victorian Parliament
Stuff the federation: Dom and Dan’s unlikely bromance
On paper, it would seem unworkable. Daniel Andrews is a progressive premier from Labor’s Socialist Left faction and Perrottet, a conservative Catholic from the Liberal party’s right. But their desire to be bold political reformers trumps rigid ideology.
- by Annika Smethurst
Latest
Staff shortages threaten Andrews’ $9bn preschool overhaul
Workforce issues could hamper the state government from getting its early learning reforms off the ground.
- by Cara Waters, Adam Carey, Matilda Finn and Marta Pascual Juanola
Kindergarten to get a $9b overhaul, with more places and longer hours
The Andrews government has promised a multibillion-dollar reshaping of preschool and childcare in Victoria.
- by Annika Smethurst
‘A game-changer’: NSW to introduce an extra year of education
In the biggest reform of schooling in a generation, the NSW government will offer five days per week of pre-kindergarten to every four-year-old by 2030.
- by Jordan Baker
Fee support for NSW preschoolers in $1.4 billion program
Parents who send their preschoolers to long day care will for the first time receive subsidies from the NSW government.
- by Alexandra Smith
Opinion
Opinion
For women, Matt Kean might just be the teal deal
The NSW treasurer is the style of Liberal who could fend off the turquoise troopers - all while dragging the Libs into the 21st century.
- by Jenna Price
Childcare sector to get $5b boost in signature NSW budget policy
Private childcare operators will be paid to expand or build new centres, creating an extra 47,000 places in a historic move by the Perrottet government.
- by Alexandra Smith
Shift workers shafted by an inflexible childcare system
The hospitality sector says parents of young children are often cut out of jobs in the industry because of the lack of flexible childcare options.
- by Katina Curtis
Parents set to save hundreds on childcare fees - but not until next year
Labor’s childcare policy promises bigger subsidies for more than a million families, but new minister Anne Aly says it’s unlikely the changes can start earlier than planned.
- by Katina Curtis
Opinion
Sunday Life
It’s time we started properly valuing the women who care for us
Women employed in the caring sector are at the front line of COVID and often live far from the leafy, affluent suburbs of Melbourne or Sydney.
- by Jamila Rizvi
Sickness ravages childcare sector as it struggles to find staff
Centres say an increase in cases of COVID-19, flu and colds has left them struggling to meet educator-to-children ratios.
- by Madeleine Heffernan