'We're struggling': calls for childcare subsidy to include grandparents
Ms Brow lives on a farm on the outskirts of Bibbenluke in southern NSW, about 170km south of Canberra.
There is only one childcare centre in the nearest town, Bombala.
It is often full, and for Ms Brow, who works remotely for the charity Motherland Australia, finding appropriate care for her three young daughters has been a constant source of stress.
The situation is exacerbated because her parents and in-laws live between two and seven hours away.
Ms Brow is one of more than 12,000 signatories to a change.org petition calling on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be used for a broader range of care options, including grandparents.
"What I needed was financial support so I could put in stop gaps, so I could go back to work and it was affordable to go back to work," she told ACM.
"The childrens' grandparents have to travel many hours to look after them and being able to pay them to compensate for those expenses or a nanny would help."
Ms Brow said the lack of childcare options in regional and rural areas was a "massive" challenge for families.
"So many rural mothers that we work with across Australia are not even remotely near a childcare facility," she said.
"They just need affordable options (nannies or au pairs) to enable them to contribute to the workforce if that's what they choose to do ."
The petition started by For Parents calls on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be broadened to include grandparents, nannies, au pairs and co-working spaces.
Currently, the subsidy could only be used at an approved federal government child care service.
Co-founder of the petition, Jen Fleming, told ACM that parents needed more choice.
"We are in an economy where most families have both parents working to pay off a mortgage," she said.
Ms Fleming said the recent scandals in the childcare sector, including Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Brown, who is accused of abusing dozens of children, resulting in thousands of kids requiring STD tests, had left parents "distrustful" and "heartbroken".
"We are saying if your child is eligible for the childcare subsidy, you should have more choice for who is looking after them, for some it is a nanny, for others a grandparent," she said.
Ms Fleming set up the petition with a couple of other local parents.
The mum of two lives in Camp Mountain, a semi-rural area 40km outside of Brisbane.
She said when her first child, Elsie, was in childcare, her daughter was routinely sick and did not manage to bond with the staff because of the high number of staff turnover.
Ms Fleming described the experience as "traumatic".
She now has her own business, and her father and a nanny look after her daughters three days a week.
"I'm not a rarity in this," she said. "As part of the petition, I've heard from a range of families who are struggling with this issue."
One family said that they could not put their children in childcare because a family member was immunocompromised.
"The one-size-fits-all is not working for a lot of people," she said.
Federal early childhood education minister Dr Jess Walsh was contacted for comment.
Access to childcare has been an issue for Kate Brow ever since she became a mum eight years ago.
Ms Brow lives on a farm on the outskirts of Bibbenluke in southern NSW, about 170km south of Canberra.
There is only one childcare centre in the nearest town, Bombala.
It is often full, and for Ms Brow, who works remotely for the charity Motherland Australia, finding appropriate care for her three young daughters has been a constant source of stress.
The situation is exacerbated because her parents and in-laws live between two and seven hours away.
Ms Brow is one of more than 12,000 signatories to a change.org petition calling on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be used for a broader range of care options, including grandparents.
"What I needed was financial support so I could put in stop gaps, so I could go back to work and it was affordable to go back to work," she told ACM.
"The childrens' grandparents have to travel many hours to look after them and being able to pay them to compensate for those expenses or a nanny would help."
Ms Brow said the lack of childcare options in regional and rural areas was a "massive" challenge for families.
"So many rural mothers that we work with across Australia are not even remotely near a childcare facility," she said.
"They just need affordable options (nannies or au pairs) to enable them to contribute to the workforce if that's what they choose to do ."
The petition started by For Parents calls on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be broadened to include grandparents, nannies, au pairs and co-working spaces.
Currently, the subsidy could only be used at an approved federal government child care service.
Co-founder of the petition, Jen Fleming, told ACM that parents needed more choice.
"We are in an economy where most families have both parents working to pay off a mortgage," she said.
Ms Fleming said the recent scandals in the childcare sector, including Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Brown, who is accused of abusing dozens of children, resulting in thousands of kids requiring STD tests, had left parents "distrustful" and "heartbroken".
"We are saying if your child is eligible for the childcare subsidy, you should have more choice for who is looking after them, for some it is a nanny, for others a grandparent," she said.
Ms Fleming set up the petition with a couple of other local parents.
The mum of two lives in Camp Mountain, a semi-rural area 40km outside of Brisbane.
She said when her first child, Elsie, was in childcare, her daughter was routinely sick and did not manage to bond with the staff because of the high number of staff turnover.
Ms Fleming described the experience as "traumatic".
She now has her own business, and her father and a nanny look after her daughters three days a week.
"I'm not a rarity in this," she said. "As part of the petition, I've heard from a range of families who are struggling with this issue."
One family said that they could not put their children in childcare because a family member was immunocompromised.
"The one-size-fits-all is not working for a lot of people," she said.
Federal early childhood education minister Dr Jess Walsh was contacted for comment.
Access to childcare has been an issue for Kate Brow ever since she became a mum eight years ago.
Ms Brow lives on a farm on the outskirts of Bibbenluke in southern NSW, about 170km south of Canberra.
There is only one childcare centre in the nearest town, Bombala.
It is often full, and for Ms Brow, who works remotely for the charity Motherland Australia, finding appropriate care for her three young daughters has been a constant source of stress.
The situation is exacerbated because her parents and in-laws live between two and seven hours away.
Ms Brow is one of more than 12,000 signatories to a change.org petition calling on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be used for a broader range of care options, including grandparents.
"What I needed was financial support so I could put in stop gaps, so I could go back to work and it was affordable to go back to work," she told ACM.
"The childrens' grandparents have to travel many hours to look after them and being able to pay them to compensate for those expenses or a nanny would help."
Ms Brow said the lack of childcare options in regional and rural areas was a "massive" challenge for families.
"So many rural mothers that we work with across Australia are not even remotely near a childcare facility," she said.
"They just need affordable options (nannies or au pairs) to enable them to contribute to the workforce if that's what they choose to do ."
The petition started by For Parents calls on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be broadened to include grandparents, nannies, au pairs and co-working spaces.
Currently, the subsidy could only be used at an approved federal government child care service.
Co-founder of the petition, Jen Fleming, told ACM that parents needed more choice.
"We are in an economy where most families have both parents working to pay off a mortgage," she said.
Ms Fleming said the recent scandals in the childcare sector, including Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Brown, who is accused of abusing dozens of children, resulting in thousands of kids requiring STD tests, had left parents "distrustful" and "heartbroken".
"We are saying if your child is eligible for the childcare subsidy, you should have more choice for who is looking after them, for some it is a nanny, for others a grandparent," she said.
Ms Fleming set up the petition with a couple of other local parents.
The mum of two lives in Camp Mountain, a semi-rural area 40km outside of Brisbane.
She said when her first child, Elsie, was in childcare, her daughter was routinely sick and did not manage to bond with the staff because of the high number of staff turnover.
Ms Fleming described the experience as "traumatic".
She now has her own business, and her father and a nanny look after her daughters three days a week.
"I'm not a rarity in this," she said. "As part of the petition, I've heard from a range of families who are struggling with this issue."
One family said that they could not put their children in childcare because a family member was immunocompromised.
"The one-size-fits-all is not working for a lot of people," she said.
Federal early childhood education minister Dr Jess Walsh was contacted for comment.
Access to childcare has been an issue for Kate Brow ever since she became a mum eight years ago.
Ms Brow lives on a farm on the outskirts of Bibbenluke in southern NSW, about 170km south of Canberra.
There is only one childcare centre in the nearest town, Bombala.
It is often full, and for Ms Brow, who works remotely for the charity Motherland Australia, finding appropriate care for her three young daughters has been a constant source of stress.
The situation is exacerbated because her parents and in-laws live between two and seven hours away.
Ms Brow is one of more than 12,000 signatories to a change.org petition calling on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be used for a broader range of care options, including grandparents.
"What I needed was financial support so I could put in stop gaps, so I could go back to work and it was affordable to go back to work," she told ACM.
"The childrens' grandparents have to travel many hours to look after them and being able to pay them to compensate for those expenses or a nanny would help."
Ms Brow said the lack of childcare options in regional and rural areas was a "massive" challenge for families.
"So many rural mothers that we work with across Australia are not even remotely near a childcare facility," she said.
"They just need affordable options (nannies or au pairs) to enable them to contribute to the workforce if that's what they choose to do ."
The petition started by For Parents calls on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be broadened to include grandparents, nannies, au pairs and co-working spaces.
Currently, the subsidy could only be used at an approved federal government child care service.
Co-founder of the petition, Jen Fleming, told ACM that parents needed more choice.
"We are in an economy where most families have both parents working to pay off a mortgage," she said.
Ms Fleming said the recent scandals in the childcare sector, including Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Brown, who is accused of abusing dozens of children, resulting in thousands of kids requiring STD tests, had left parents "distrustful" and "heartbroken".
"We are saying if your child is eligible for the childcare subsidy, you should have more choice for who is looking after them, for some it is a nanny, for others a grandparent," she said.
Ms Fleming set up the petition with a couple of other local parents.
The mum of two lives in Camp Mountain, a semi-rural area 40km outside of Brisbane.
She said when her first child, Elsie, was in childcare, her daughter was routinely sick and did not manage to bond with the staff because of the high number of staff turnover.
Ms Fleming described the experience as "traumatic".
She now has her own business, and her father and a nanny look after her daughters three days a week.
"I'm not a rarity in this," she said. "As part of the petition, I've heard from a range of families who are struggling with this issue."
One family said that they could not put their children in childcare because a family member was immunocompromised.
"The one-size-fits-all is not working for a lot of people," she said.
Federal early childhood education minister Dr Jess Walsh was contacted for comment.
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Ms Tougher welcomed the move away from motels to more appropriate accommodation by the Minns government. But "what is that going to look like?" "Some of these motels used for temporary accommodation are disgusting, expensive and not safe," she said. Increasing wrap-around services and reducing exits from government services to homelessness was also important. "I'm glad they have noticed that and are trying to address it," she said. "Young people and older people who are persistently homeless have usually spent a large part of their lives in some form of institutional care," she said. "They leave these institutions with no basic life skills, such as how to make an appointment, cooking skills, things we take for granted." Ms Tougher said, particularly in holiday destinations like Port Macquarie, rough sleepers around town were moved on quickly. "Council doesn't want the tourists to think there is a homelessness problem," she said. "They need to come up with some alternative accommodation like a showground, whether it is an unused piece of crown land," she said. Homelessness NSW CEO, Dom Rowe, said the sector had been calling for a whole-of-government response to homelessness, which had worsened during the cost-of-living crisis. He said the state government's strategy "answers that call", saying his organisation was seeing more people living in their cars, couch surfing between friends' places and sleeping rough on the streets. Deputy CEO of Domestic Violence NSW Carolyn Hodge said domestic and family violence was a significant driver of homelessness. Ms Hodge said they would be advocating for a stronger focus on trauma-informed support and immediate crisis responses as the 10-year plan was implemented. "It's our goal to ensure that women and children no longer need to choose between abuse and homelessness," she said. READ MORE: 'Tireless advocate' for homeless youth dies aged 70 A regional youth homelessness service is turning young people away with swags and "flimsy tents" because they are full. It comes as the NSW state government released a 10-year homelessness strategy, the first of its kind in the state. Key reforms in the first stage of implementation include replacing hotel and motel stays with more appropriate homelessness accommodation, establishing a NSW Street Sleeping Registry, and reducing exits from government services into homelessness through new cross-agency governance. Homelessness minister Rose Jackson said the plan was a "game-changing, long-term approach" which will shift the focus from crisis management to prevention and support. YP Space MNC outreach manager Deb Tougher told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, the situation was at "crisis point". The charity has two youth refuges in Port Macquarie and offers temporary accommodation in Kempsey. All are filled to capacity. Both youth refuges help boys aged 12-24, while in the temporary accommodation at Kempsey, young mums fleeing domestic violence make up the majority of the intake. READ MORE: 'Sleeping on trains, in tents and cars': youth homelessness at crisis level Ms Tougher said most of the kids and young people were fleeing "unsafe, toxic and dysfunctional families". "A smart kid is not going to run away from a happy, safe home," she said. Ms Tougher said there was a subset of young people where one parent had partnered, and there were issues with the new partner. "We are having to give these young people tents and swags because there is nothing to give them. "It is awful, especially with this wild weather, a flimsy tent, and to say 'have a great weekend in the cyclonic weather'." She said there was zero housing on the Mid North Coast in the private rental market that was affordable on social security benefits, which she says must be increased by the federal government. Ms Tougher welcomed the move away from motels to more appropriate accommodation by the Minns government. But "what is that going to look like?" "Some of these motels used for temporary accommodation are disgusting, expensive and not safe," she said. Increasing wrap-around services and reducing exits from government services to homelessness was also important. "I'm glad they have noticed that and are trying to address it," she said. "Young people and older people who are persistently homeless have usually spent a large part of their lives in some form of institutional care," she said. "They leave these institutions with no basic life skills, such as how to make an appointment, cooking skills, things we take for granted." Ms Tougher said, particularly in holiday destinations like Port Macquarie, rough sleepers around town were moved on quickly. "Council doesn't want the tourists to think there is a homelessness problem," she said. "They need to come up with some alternative accommodation like a showground, whether it is an unused piece of crown land," she said. Homelessness NSW CEO, Dom Rowe, said the sector had been calling for a whole-of-government response to homelessness, which had worsened during the cost-of-living crisis. He said the state government's strategy "answers that call", saying his organisation was seeing more people living in their cars, couch surfing between friends' places and sleeping rough on the streets. Deputy CEO of Domestic Violence NSW Carolyn Hodge said domestic and family violence was a significant driver of homelessness. Ms Hodge said they would be advocating for a stronger focus on trauma-informed support and immediate crisis responses as the 10-year plan was implemented. "It's our goal to ensure that women and children no longer need to choose between abuse and homelessness," she said. READ MORE: 'Tireless advocate' for homeless youth dies aged 70
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4 days ago
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'We're struggling': calls for childcare subsidy to include grandparents
Access to childcare has been an issue for Kate Brow ever since she became a mum eight years ago. Ms Brow lives on a farm on the outskirts of Bibbenluke in southern NSW, about 170km south of Canberra. There is only one childcare centre in the nearest town, Bombala. It is often full, and for Ms Brow, who works remotely for the charity Motherland Australia, finding appropriate care for her three young daughters has been a constant source of stress. The situation is exacerbated because her parents and in-laws live between two and seven hours away. Ms Brow is one of more than 12,000 signatories to a petition calling on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be used for a broader range of care options, including grandparents. "What I needed was financial support so I could put in stop gaps, so I could go back to work and it was affordable to go back to work," she told ACM. "The childrens' grandparents have to travel many hours to look after them and being able to pay them to compensate for those expenses or a nanny would help." Ms Brow said the lack of childcare options in regional and rural areas was a "massive" challenge for families. "So many rural mothers that we work with across Australia are not even remotely near a childcare facility," she said. "They just need affordable options (nannies or au pairs) to enable them to contribute to the workforce if that's what they choose to do ." The petition started by For Parents calls on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be broadened to include grandparents, nannies, au pairs and co-working spaces. Currently, the subsidy could only be used at an approved federal government child care service. Co-founder of the petition, Jen Fleming, told ACM that parents needed more choice. "We are in an economy where most families have both parents working to pay off a mortgage," she said. Ms Fleming said the recent scandals in the childcare sector, including Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Brown, who is accused of abusing dozens of children, resulting in thousands of kids requiring STD tests, had left parents "distrustful" and "heartbroken". "We are saying if your child is eligible for the childcare subsidy, you should have more choice for who is looking after them, for some it is a nanny, for others a grandparent," she said. Ms Fleming set up the petition with a couple of other local parents. The mum of two lives in Camp Mountain, a semi-rural area 40km outside of Brisbane. She said when her first child, Elsie, was in childcare, her daughter was routinely sick and did not manage to bond with the staff because of the high number of staff turnover. Ms Fleming described the experience as "traumatic". She now has her own business, and her father and a nanny look after her daughters three days a week. "I'm not a rarity in this," she said. "As part of the petition, I've heard from a range of families who are struggling with this issue." One family said that they could not put their children in childcare because a family member was immunocompromised. "The one-size-fits-all is not working for a lot of people," she said. Federal early childhood education minister Dr Jess Walsh was contacted for comment. Access to childcare has been an issue for Kate Brow ever since she became a mum eight years ago. Ms Brow lives on a farm on the outskirts of Bibbenluke in southern NSW, about 170km south of Canberra. There is only one childcare centre in the nearest town, Bombala. It is often full, and for Ms Brow, who works remotely for the charity Motherland Australia, finding appropriate care for her three young daughters has been a constant source of stress. The situation is exacerbated because her parents and in-laws live between two and seven hours away. Ms Brow is one of more than 12,000 signatories to a petition calling on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be used for a broader range of care options, including grandparents. "What I needed was financial support so I could put in stop gaps, so I could go back to work and it was affordable to go back to work," she told ACM. "The childrens' grandparents have to travel many hours to look after them and being able to pay them to compensate for those expenses or a nanny would help." Ms Brow said the lack of childcare options in regional and rural areas was a "massive" challenge for families. "So many rural mothers that we work with across Australia are not even remotely near a childcare facility," she said. "They just need affordable options (nannies or au pairs) to enable them to contribute to the workforce if that's what they choose to do ." The petition started by For Parents calls on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be broadened to include grandparents, nannies, au pairs and co-working spaces. Currently, the subsidy could only be used at an approved federal government child care service. Co-founder of the petition, Jen Fleming, told ACM that parents needed more choice. "We are in an economy where most families have both parents working to pay off a mortgage," she said. Ms Fleming said the recent scandals in the childcare sector, including Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Brown, who is accused of abusing dozens of children, resulting in thousands of kids requiring STD tests, had left parents "distrustful" and "heartbroken". "We are saying if your child is eligible for the childcare subsidy, you should have more choice for who is looking after them, for some it is a nanny, for others a grandparent," she said. Ms Fleming set up the petition with a couple of other local parents. The mum of two lives in Camp Mountain, a semi-rural area 40km outside of Brisbane. She said when her first child, Elsie, was in childcare, her daughter was routinely sick and did not manage to bond with the staff because of the high number of staff turnover. Ms Fleming described the experience as "traumatic". She now has her own business, and her father and a nanny look after her daughters three days a week. "I'm not a rarity in this," she said. "As part of the petition, I've heard from a range of families who are struggling with this issue." One family said that they could not put their children in childcare because a family member was immunocompromised. "The one-size-fits-all is not working for a lot of people," she said. Federal early childhood education minister Dr Jess Walsh was contacted for comment. Access to childcare has been an issue for Kate Brow ever since she became a mum eight years ago. Ms Brow lives on a farm on the outskirts of Bibbenluke in southern NSW, about 170km south of Canberra. There is only one childcare centre in the nearest town, Bombala. It is often full, and for Ms Brow, who works remotely for the charity Motherland Australia, finding appropriate care for her three young daughters has been a constant source of stress. The situation is exacerbated because her parents and in-laws live between two and seven hours away. Ms Brow is one of more than 12,000 signatories to a petition calling on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be used for a broader range of care options, including grandparents. "What I needed was financial support so I could put in stop gaps, so I could go back to work and it was affordable to go back to work," she told ACM. "The childrens' grandparents have to travel many hours to look after them and being able to pay them to compensate for those expenses or a nanny would help." Ms Brow said the lack of childcare options in regional and rural areas was a "massive" challenge for families. "So many rural mothers that we work with across Australia are not even remotely near a childcare facility," she said. "They just need affordable options (nannies or au pairs) to enable them to contribute to the workforce if that's what they choose to do ." The petition started by For Parents calls on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be broadened to include grandparents, nannies, au pairs and co-working spaces. Currently, the subsidy could only be used at an approved federal government child care service. Co-founder of the petition, Jen Fleming, told ACM that parents needed more choice. "We are in an economy where most families have both parents working to pay off a mortgage," she said. Ms Fleming said the recent scandals in the childcare sector, including Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Brown, who is accused of abusing dozens of children, resulting in thousands of kids requiring STD tests, had left parents "distrustful" and "heartbroken". "We are saying if your child is eligible for the childcare subsidy, you should have more choice for who is looking after them, for some it is a nanny, for others a grandparent," she said. Ms Fleming set up the petition with a couple of other local parents. The mum of two lives in Camp Mountain, a semi-rural area 40km outside of Brisbane. She said when her first child, Elsie, was in childcare, her daughter was routinely sick and did not manage to bond with the staff because of the high number of staff turnover. Ms Fleming described the experience as "traumatic". She now has her own business, and her father and a nanny look after her daughters three days a week. "I'm not a rarity in this," she said. "As part of the petition, I've heard from a range of families who are struggling with this issue." One family said that they could not put their children in childcare because a family member was immunocompromised. "The one-size-fits-all is not working for a lot of people," she said. Federal early childhood education minister Dr Jess Walsh was contacted for comment. Access to childcare has been an issue for Kate Brow ever since she became a mum eight years ago. Ms Brow lives on a farm on the outskirts of Bibbenluke in southern NSW, about 170km south of Canberra. There is only one childcare centre in the nearest town, Bombala. It is often full, and for Ms Brow, who works remotely for the charity Motherland Australia, finding appropriate care for her three young daughters has been a constant source of stress. The situation is exacerbated because her parents and in-laws live between two and seven hours away. Ms Brow is one of more than 12,000 signatories to a petition calling on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be used for a broader range of care options, including grandparents. "What I needed was financial support so I could put in stop gaps, so I could go back to work and it was affordable to go back to work," she told ACM. "The childrens' grandparents have to travel many hours to look after them and being able to pay them to compensate for those expenses or a nanny would help." Ms Brow said the lack of childcare options in regional and rural areas was a "massive" challenge for families. "So many rural mothers that we work with across Australia are not even remotely near a childcare facility," she said. "They just need affordable options (nannies or au pairs) to enable them to contribute to the workforce if that's what they choose to do ." The petition started by For Parents calls on the federal government to allow the childcare subsidy to be broadened to include grandparents, nannies, au pairs and co-working spaces. Currently, the subsidy could only be used at an approved federal government child care service. Co-founder of the petition, Jen Fleming, told ACM that parents needed more choice. "We are in an economy where most families have both parents working to pay off a mortgage," she said. Ms Fleming said the recent scandals in the childcare sector, including Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Brown, who is accused of abusing dozens of children, resulting in thousands of kids requiring STD tests, had left parents "distrustful" and "heartbroken". "We are saying if your child is eligible for the childcare subsidy, you should have more choice for who is looking after them, for some it is a nanny, for others a grandparent," she said. Ms Fleming set up the petition with a couple of other local parents. The mum of two lives in Camp Mountain, a semi-rural area 40km outside of Brisbane. She said when her first child, Elsie, was in childcare, her daughter was routinely sick and did not manage to bond with the staff because of the high number of staff turnover. Ms Fleming described the experience as "traumatic". She now has her own business, and her father and a nanny look after her daughters three days a week. "I'm not a rarity in this," she said. "As part of the petition, I've heard from a range of families who are struggling with this issue." One family said that they could not put their children in childcare because a family member was immunocompromised. "The one-size-fits-all is not working for a lot of people," she said. Federal early childhood education minister Dr Jess Walsh was contacted for comment.
