New ABS data released this week shows that Canberra families are paying 8.8 per cent more for child care over the twelve months to December 2021, 

According to the latest quarterly Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for child care costs in December 2021, show the cost of child care in nearly triple CPI (3.5 per cent).

Nationally, the average out of pocket cost of child care is higher than it’s ever been.

At a time when real wages are going backwards, these growing child care costs mean most families budgets are going backwards.

Canberra families have been hit with the highest increase in child care costs, with child care cost up across the Australia at 6.5 per cent.

Australian working families pay some of the highest child care costs in the world, with fees up more than 44 per cent under this government. Many parents actually lose money if they work a fourth or fifth day.

Labor believes that a universal child care system will unlock more work opportunities for women and make child care cheaper for hard working families.

"Child care costs are putting a strain on family budgets. Under the current system, you can actually lose money if you choose to work a fourth or a fifth day, and most of the time this happens to women. Labor will abolish the cap on the rebate, which will make child care cheaper for 97% of families in the system."

Labor’s Cheaper Child Care for Working Families policy will reduce the cost of child care. 97 per cent of families using child care will be better off through Labor’s new system. We will:

• Scrap the $10,560 child care subsidy cap which often sees women losing money from an extra day’s work;
• Lift the maximum child care subsidy rate to 90 per cent; and
• Increase child care subsidy rates for families earning less than $530,000.

Labor will get straight to work to fix Australia’s broken child care system, which currently locks more than 100,000 families out, because it is just unaffordable. Labor will also undertake a root-and-branch analysis of child care through the Productivity Commission.

The current system is broken, has very little transparency and belongs in the 1960s and keeps women out of the workforce and puts a break on productivity.

Making child care more affordable will lift workforce participation and increase economic growth.

Labor will also work with the ACCC to improve transparency around what is driving their fee increases to give families the ability to easily and accurately compare providers in order to make informed decisions.

Cheaper child care is good for the economy, good for families and good for women. Only Labor is committed to ensuring every Australian child gets access to affordable and high quality early learning.