Senator Matt O’Sullivan
Shadow Minister for Choice in Childcare and Early Learning
Shadow Minister for Child Protection and the Prevention of Family Violence
Deputy Manager of Opposition Business
Senator for Western Australia
Media Release
10 September 2026
A new report released today from the Centre of the Independent Studies reveals Labor’s push towards universal childcare will cost taxpayers an additional $6.8 billion every year, while leaving around half of families with young children without any direct benefit.
The Prime Minister has staked his political legacy on delivering universal childcare, with Labor’s National Platform stating early education “should be universal” and available to all children and families.
But is universal childcare really the best choice for every family? Or does it reflect Labor’s ideological belief that government knows better than parents what is best for their children? We should be supporting parents to make that choice, not deciding which choice deserves support.
Labor has been implementing this agenda already, with reforms like the Three-Day Guarantee and its billion dollar Building Early Education Fund laying the ideological foundations for their universal early education and care system.
Before Labor commits billions more pursuing the Prime Minister’s personal legacy, taxpayers deserve to know what it will cost, and families deserve to know who will be left behind.
The report reveals a universal $10-a-day model would increase annual taxpayer expenditure by around $6.81 billion, or 42 per cent, even before accounting for any increased demand. The cost, however, could be even higher, with further modelling suggesting the annual price tag may significantly exceed this estimate. All the while, around half of Australian families with children aged 0-5 would receive no direct benefit because they do not currently use formal childcare.
Labor needs to explain why it continues to pursue a costly universal system without properly considering families who choose other forms of care.
A nurse working night shift, a FIFO family, parents in regional Australia, a family relying on grandparents, or a parent who wants to spend more time caring for their own child should not be an afterthought in Australia’s childcare system.
There is no single way to raise a family and there should not be a one-size-fits-all approach to supporting them.
Instead of relentlessly expanding subsidies for one form of care, we should be looking at how government can give families greater choice and flexibility to make the arrangements that work for them.
[ENDS]