The Coalition welcomes the child safety reforms in education and care services which became mandatory yesterday, as per the changes to the National Law.
The safety of Australian children in our early childhood and care system is a priority that is second to none. Yet the accessibility of this care is one that continues to slip away.
Latest Consumer Price Index data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows childcare costs have risen by 11.5 per cent in the last year to January 2026. This is just another blow to Australian families who are already struggling under Labor’s cost-of-living-crisis of their own making.
After nearly four years of Labor, Australians are paying more for almost everything: energy is up 38 per cent, rents are up 22 per cent, health is up 18 per cent, education is up 17 per cent, and food is up 16 per cent.
This is not the reality Australians were promised.
Just like the promise that electricity would be $275 cheaper under Labor, the promise of cheaper childcare has been broken.
Labor went to the election claiming its childcare policies would make life cheaper and easier. Instead, costs are skyrocketing and families are being squeezed from every direction.
An average full-time place in childcare is now almost $36,000 before subsidies.
It is now clear there is no cost-of-living relief for parents and carers using childcare.
When challenged recently at Senate Estimates to explain how the out-of-pocket costs of childcare for parents could increase so dramatically despite the fee-growth cap in place, the Government stumbled.
Government officials first suggested it was because families were earning more, then admitted they did not have data to support that assertion. One Government official said fees are growing at a slower pace and that this was “good news”.
If the Government was listening to parents, they would know skyrocketing childcare costs are not good news. The fact is, the Government knows childcare inflation is the real cost experienced by families and it is out of control.
Labor is increasingly exposed on its plan for one-size-fits all childcare. Instead of delivering genuine choice and flexibility, Labor have become rigid in their pursuit of one-size childcare which ultimately forces families into centre-based care.
The Coalition will always stand for choice and flexibility in childcare, and we will continue to listen to families and back their choice about how to raise and care for their children.