Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, , 6:37:19 to 6:45:32
Discussion on government efforts to support not-for-profit childcare services and expenditure under the Community Child Care Fund (CCCF).
Topics: Education, Government spending
Speakers: Senator Jess Walsh, Senator Steph Hodgins-May, Ms. Larissa Hinds, Unknown Speaker, Ms. Kylie Crane
>> Yeah. Great. Um thank you chair. We know that around 70% of the sector is for-profit. We've established that. Minister, can you please explain what your government is doing to change the composition beyond the beef?
>> Um so thank you Senator. So around 70% of early learning services are operated by forprofit um providers. Um, it's important, I think, to note uh that the majority of those for-profit providers um are small providers um that are um familyowned uh and that are independent um and a proportion of those um services um are um larger um corporate um providers. Uh and um we are um as you know um focused on um supporting uh the not for-p profofit sector. Um you asked me not to talk about the beef but of course the but of course the building early education fund um is only available to um uh not for-p profofit services. Uh and we we of course could talk more about that. More broadly um we are um exploring and taking um opportunities to support um not for profofits um to expand um where we see them. Uh and an important and recent example of that would be the support that we've provided to good start early learning um in relation to its bid to take over a number of edge early learning services. Um this is a provider um that uh I have described as having um significant compliance issues. Um it's a provider who our um uh who were impacted by our Commonwealth um regulatory uh action. Uh it's a provider that went into voluntary administration uh and uh we are focused on supporting um good start um to um take over as many services as is practicable um to provide uh not for-p profofit learning um to those children.
>> And Minister, what about those ones that are actively closing? I'm thinking of for example um Uniting Mary Beck back home in Victoria um who have had to fight against closure despite multiple for profofits um centers opening in that same area of the community. Is there anything beyond the beef and thank you for um letting us know about good start but happening for those smaller community run centers that are feeling immense pressure due to oversaturation often of the forprofits in those areas.
>> So a a couple of things there. Um, one of course um is um the triplecf funding that we provide um to support um the viability um of services um many of which um are um smaller community and not for-p profofit services um we've concluded around of $106 million of support to a range of services to assist with their viability. um you mentioned in your example um there and it's one that I don't have particular background um on but I've heard uh what you um how you described it and I've seen ABC reporting about it um as well uh and um what you've described is a situation where there's a sort of a longunning um community or not for-p profofit service and you've described a situation where there's sighting of um larger forprofits around it um and you've cited a situation where that may affect the viability. Again, I don't have information about that particular circumstance. Um but we can certainly see um that in some areas there is over supply. Um and um we are starting to see the implications of that over supply um particularly in the viability of those services who do the additional sighting around services that already exist. Um and uh as I have said um we are interested in um whether an early childhood education commission um could assist um with um providing better basis of coordination for the commonwealth and the states and territories who have different responsibilities in relation to coordination. um and we see um a need for um better stewardship of those approaches to make sure that we can better match supply to where it is
Thank you, Minister, and I'd be very happy to facilitate an introduction with those families fighting to keep their much love center open um if there was interest in doing so. But I'm going to pick up on your point um around the CCF and um in particular I want to draw the department's attention to a question on notice. Allow the personnel change. Uh, it's a question on notice SQ26 triple Z 7 triple0703
just to confirm this is a one around applications for childcare viability
>> um expenditure figures under the community childare fund up to 24 y is that one you've got uh so the department has provided expenditure figures under the community child care fund up until financial year 2024 to 2025 um expenditure has been falling over the last 3-year period and I also note that in the last two years you haven't expended the appropriation of um 4 million that I was told is available under this fund um first of all are the 2526 figures available now
>> we will just check folders for you
Senator Lissa Hines, assistant secretary secretary for the triple CF program. Um, so I believe your question is about the 2526 triple CF special circumstance grant round. Um, so as you said, yes, we have $4 million in a special appropriation available. Um, we actually paid in the 2526 year $2.8 million to services um for the year. and I've got the breakdown uh on a state basis if you're
>> Are you able to explain why the department's not spending that entire $4 million? It seems like a fairly modest amount in the first place. Um if we've got community centers closing down basically everywhere and we are you are committed to keeping those not for profofits open as you say. So, it's a
grant process that stays open for the full tws of every year. And what we do is we can accept a grant application uh that addresses the special circumstances grant um criteria at any time in a 12-month period.