Not a single childcare operator in a little-known part of the sector called in-home care says they are financially viable, leaving the 810 vulnerable families who rely on them at risk of losing vital child care.
The findings come from a survey of the 23 remaining in-home care operators by its lobby group, which says the sector’s exclusion from a government wage subsidy scheme has left it on the brink of collapse.
The Australian Home Childcare Association (AHCA) report found 31 per cent were at risk of closure, 72 per cent reported families were withdrawing from care and 77 per cent of operators said educators were given reduced hours or had left the sector.
To qualify for in-home care, families live remotely, do shift work, have a child protection order or serious illness and have an educator provide care in the home.
The government has been accused of breaking a promise to provide cheaper child care by families, the opposition and the crossbench.
Ashley Perez (left) says it was “really bad luck” to have not one, but two daughters, diagnosed with leukaemia. (Supplied)
Mother-of-three Ashley Perez from Lara, near Geelong in Victoria, needs in-home child care to keep her daughters Emilia, 7, and Alyssa, 5, safe during leukaemia treatment.
While Ms Perez said she did not have energy for anger, she felt “disappointed and let down that the government made promises for [child care] to be accessible to all, when there’s so many pockets that are still left out”.
She said participating in mainstream education during their chemotherapy would put her children at high risk of infection, with potentially serious consequences.
In-home care has been a huge help for the girls to feel normality, and continue learning while undergoing treatment. (Supplied)
“I would like the government to understand how important it is for children like mine, for other vulnerable children, to just be put on a level playing field with kids who can attend mainstream services,” she said.
“A single cold could send them to hospital. So having someone available to keep educating my girls while all these nasty viruses are going around is critical to not only their learning, their safety, but also their mental health.”
Ms Perez warned if the sector collapsed, children battling serious illness would be left behind or put at risk.
While Emilia and Alyssa are undergoing chemotherapy, the family feels fortunate that their prognosis is positive. (Supplied)
“These children, by no fault of their own, will have setbacks. But they all strive and love to play and learn,” she said.
In a statement, the government said it had lifted the subsidy rate to 90 per cent for low-income families and was working with the in-home care sector, reducing the amount families paid.
“I know that in-home care is important to the around 800 families who use it and who, for a range of important reasons, can’t participate in centre-based care,” Early Childhood Education Minister Jess Walsh said.
“We’ll continue working with the in-home care sector to determine how best to support their workforce to provide education and care support to families.”
Not a single operation viable
Nicole Morgan from the AHCA said the sector had already shrunk significantly before the wage rises due to affordability issues but was now at risk of total collapse.
Two years ago the government announced it would fund a worker retention payment to cover the cost of a historic 15 per cent pay rise for childcare workers.
Unlike centre-based operators, who are eligible for the government’s worker retention payment, in-home care providers have been left to pass the cost on to families.
‘Neglected’ early childhood educators set for pay rise
The first 5 per cent pay rise started in March and another 5 per cent rise is expected in July.
Ms Morgan said it would cost $6.3 million annually to extend the subsidy to in-home care providers, compared to the $3.4 billion government spendt on centre-based wage subsidies.
“If the children in centre-based care are able to access this increased funding, I don’t understand why the vulnerable child or the remote child or the child whose mother and father are frontline workers for the Australian people … are kept out of it,” Ms Morgan said.
Western Australian Liberal senator Matt O’Sullivan said he was “very concerned” about the sector’s plight and would pursue the government in Senate estimates unless a fix was introduced.
He said the government was requiring childcare businesses to have formal enterprise agreements, which the in-home care providers lacked because they were small businesses.
Liberal Senator Matt O’Sullivan says there are real safety risks for vulnerable children. (Supplied)
“I’m going to be questioning this through Senate estimates because I’ve already met with the minister and put it on notice in a way to say that this needs to be fixed,” he said.
The Greens and crossbenchers were also pushing the government for an urgent fix.
Senator O’Sullivan said there were real safety concerns that children were being put at risk, with some families using at-home services because of court orders and child protection issues.
“It’s not just a case of mums maybe not being able to go to work — this is beyond that,” Senator O’Sullivan said.
“There’s family domestic violence issues and so they’ve got an order to have someone in the home. They’re not able to comply because they can’t afford the extra fees.”
He said it broke a government promise to provide cheaper child care.
‘Care has gone to the bottom of the list’
At the Perez home, the family currently has an educator come two days a week.
They would ideally like to add more time but say it’s unaffordable.
“Unfortunately, care has to go to the bottom of the list,” Ms Perez said
“We have to pay our home loan. We have to put food on the table. We have to put petrol in the car because we have to drive to the hospital multiple times a week.”
She said they wouldn’t be able to continue with in-home care at all without the support of their community, which has rallied around them with donations.