Child Care

The government is accused of breaking its promise of cheaper child care, with prices rising for 810 vulnerable families.

Western Australia is the only state to not recognise Working with Children Check rejections from around the country, and has been "slow" to make other child safety law changes, expert says.

South Australia’s childcare centre watchdog says children have injured themselves or "ended up on main roads" due to poor supervision and that one in five services in the state do not meet national quality standards.

Victoria and Western Australia will be affected the most, with 12 centres shutting in each state. NSW, Queensland and South Australia will also have closures.

The head of Edge Early Learning says he is conducting a "whole of business transformation project" after being the subject of compliance action over inadequate supervision and other issues at its childcare centres in Adelaide.

The nationwide closure of specialist centres has put a spotlight on the adequacy of National Disability Insurance Scheme funding for children with "severe, profound, lifelong" autism.

Another Adelaide childcare centre has been forced to shut its doors for three months after seven incidents of children being left unsupervised.

An inquiry into Queensland's child safety system hears the former minister was made aware of the sector's resource issues, as well as the "significant increase" in children entering residential care.

Australia definitely won't nationalise child care, even though the data suggests there's a strong case. Perhaps a more feasible idea would be to copy what Canada has done.

In the depths of grief, this family wants to grow. But a childcare crisis stands in its way.

Alan Kohler has a suggestion for the treasurer: nationalise the childcare industry and make it free by extending public education to kids under 5.

CEOs in Queensland's residential home care sector are being paid up to $679,000 annually while providers were investing in gold and cryptocurrency, according to a new report. 

Victoria's new childcare watchdog has suspended operations at Milestones Early Learning Werribee after identifying multiple 'serious and concerning' issues.

Mobile services travelling across regional New South Wales say rising petrol prices are putting early childcare education at risk. 

Singapore is well-known for its social engineering to manage population growth. So why has the island city recorded its lowest-ever fertility rate again?

The childcare groups say they are the voices for everyday parents. What they do not mention is that they are supported by a network of current and former Liberals.

Regulator documents expose supervision failures, injuries, and claims of profit-driven budget cuts at TeamKids and Camp Australia out-of-school care services in the ACT.

In-home care provides services to about 1,000 families, but its viability is under threat because it is excluded from a government payment covering rising worker costs. 

While some child protection services will continue to be outsourced, the NSW government will play a larger role in the sector, including through the recruitment of foster carers.

Nine childcare services that have failed to lift standards will only be named if the federal government decides to cut their taxpayer funding.