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The Advertiser
23-07-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Worried parents demand national childcare watchdog
Parents could be forced to monitor the quality and safety of their kids' childcare providers unless the industry's fragmentation is addressed. The federal government on Wednesday fast-tracked the introduction of a bill that could strip public funding from childcare operators that fail to meet safety standards, among other measures. Though parent and children's advocacy groups have welcomed the bill, there are also calls for a national early-childhood commission to ensure consistent oversight and accountability across Australia. "Parents deserve to know that their child is safe in care," The Parenthood chief executive Georgie Dent said. "Without a national leader to oversee, monitor and regulate quality and safety, the onus is still on parents - many of whom have little choice around their reliance on child care." This national watchdog is particularly important for those outside the capital cities as one of Labor's big second-term promises was to expand universal access to early education. "For rural, regional and remote communities, this stewardship is absolutely critical," said Jacqui Emery, chief executive of country children's charity Royal Far West. "Every Australian child, regardless of where they live, deserves access to safe, high-quality early learning." Labor expedited its bill and introduced it to the House of Representatives on Wednesday after a Victorian childcare worker was charged with dozens of sex offences involving children in early July. State regulators can already shut a centre on the spot if there is an imminent threat to safety, but Education Minister Jason Clare said the Commonwealth should also try to lift standards through its available levers. "We have to do everything that we can to ensure the safety of our children when they walk or when they're carried through the doors of an early education and care service," he told parliament. "Funding is the big weapon that the Australian government has to wield here. "The real purpose of this legislation isn't to shut centres down but to raise standards." Childcare operators that fail to meet quality, safety and compliance standards could be prevented from opening new centres and might be cut off from receiving government subsidies, which typically cover a large proportion of parents' fees. Providers would be issued with a formal notice requiring an explanation within 28 days with the Department of Education able to cancel or suspend an operator's approval. "Providers that can improve their services to meet the standard will get the chance to do that," Mr Clare said. The bill also expands commonwealth powers to publish information about providers that are sanctioned for non-compliance. Information on centres for which childcare subsidy approvals have been suspended or cancelled can already be viewed on the department's website. But the legislation would also allow for information to be made public when compliance action is taken against providers, like when an infringement notice is issued. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said dealing with the safety of children in childcare was above politics. "I can't think of many issues in my time in this parliament that have made me feel as physically sick as this one has, and I know this feeling is shared by members across the aisle," she told parliament. There were still issues with sharing information on working-with-children checks between jurisdictions, Mr Clare said, and more work would be done at an upcoming meeting of state and federal attorneys-general. State, territory and federal ministers are also expected to meet in August to discuss other changes, including mandatory CCTV in childcare centres, establishing a national worker registry and mandatory child-safety training. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 Parents could be forced to monitor the quality and safety of their kids' childcare providers unless the industry's fragmentation is addressed. The federal government on Wednesday fast-tracked the introduction of a bill that could strip public funding from childcare operators that fail to meet safety standards, among other measures. Though parent and children's advocacy groups have welcomed the bill, there are also calls for a national early-childhood commission to ensure consistent oversight and accountability across Australia. "Parents deserve to know that their child is safe in care," The Parenthood chief executive Georgie Dent said. "Without a national leader to oversee, monitor and regulate quality and safety, the onus is still on parents - many of whom have little choice around their reliance on child care." This national watchdog is particularly important for those outside the capital cities as one of Labor's big second-term promises was to expand universal access to early education. "For rural, regional and remote communities, this stewardship is absolutely critical," said Jacqui Emery, chief executive of country children's charity Royal Far West. "Every Australian child, regardless of where they live, deserves access to safe, high-quality early learning." Labor expedited its bill and introduced it to the House of Representatives on Wednesday after a Victorian childcare worker was charged with dozens of sex offences involving children in early July. State regulators can already shut a centre on the spot if there is an imminent threat to safety, but Education Minister Jason Clare said the Commonwealth should also try to lift standards through its available levers. "We have to do everything that we can to ensure the safety of our children when they walk or when they're carried through the doors of an early education and care service," he told parliament. "Funding is the big weapon that the Australian government has to wield here. "The real purpose of this legislation isn't to shut centres down but to raise standards." Childcare operators that fail to meet quality, safety and compliance standards could be prevented from opening new centres and might be cut off from receiving government subsidies, which typically cover a large proportion of parents' fees. Providers would be issued with a formal notice requiring an explanation within 28 days with the Department of Education able to cancel or suspend an operator's approval. "Providers that can improve their services to meet the standard will get the chance to do that," Mr Clare said. The bill also expands commonwealth powers to publish information about providers that are sanctioned for non-compliance. Information on centres for which childcare subsidy approvals have been suspended or cancelled can already be viewed on the department's website. But the legislation would also allow for information to be made public when compliance action is taken against providers, like when an infringement notice is issued. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said dealing with the safety of children in childcare was above politics. "I can't think of many issues in my time in this parliament that have made me feel as physically sick as this one has, and I know this feeling is shared by members across the aisle," she told parliament. There were still issues with sharing information on working-with-children checks between jurisdictions, Mr Clare said, and more work would be done at an upcoming meeting of state and federal attorneys-general. State, territory and federal ministers are also expected to meet in August to discuss other changes, including mandatory CCTV in childcare centres, establishing a national worker registry and mandatory child-safety training. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 Parents could be forced to monitor the quality and safety of their kids' childcare providers unless the industry's fragmentation is addressed. The federal government on Wednesday fast-tracked the introduction of a bill that could strip public funding from childcare operators that fail to meet safety standards, among other measures. Though parent and children's advocacy groups have welcomed the bill, there are also calls for a national early-childhood commission to ensure consistent oversight and accountability across Australia. "Parents deserve to know that their child is safe in care," The Parenthood chief executive Georgie Dent said. "Without a national leader to oversee, monitor and regulate quality and safety, the onus is still on parents - many of whom have little choice around their reliance on child care." This national watchdog is particularly important for those outside the capital cities as one of Labor's big second-term promises was to expand universal access to early education. "For rural, regional and remote communities, this stewardship is absolutely critical," said Jacqui Emery, chief executive of country children's charity Royal Far West. "Every Australian child, regardless of where they live, deserves access to safe, high-quality early learning." Labor expedited its bill and introduced it to the House of Representatives on Wednesday after a Victorian childcare worker was charged with dozens of sex offences involving children in early July. State regulators can already shut a centre on the spot if there is an imminent threat to safety, but Education Minister Jason Clare said the Commonwealth should also try to lift standards through its available levers. "We have to do everything that we can to ensure the safety of our children when they walk or when they're carried through the doors of an early education and care service," he told parliament. "Funding is the big weapon that the Australian government has to wield here. "The real purpose of this legislation isn't to shut centres down but to raise standards." Childcare operators that fail to meet quality, safety and compliance standards could be prevented from opening new centres and might be cut off from receiving government subsidies, which typically cover a large proportion of parents' fees. Providers would be issued with a formal notice requiring an explanation within 28 days with the Department of Education able to cancel or suspend an operator's approval. "Providers that can improve their services to meet the standard will get the chance to do that," Mr Clare said. The bill also expands commonwealth powers to publish information about providers that are sanctioned for non-compliance. Information on centres for which childcare subsidy approvals have been suspended or cancelled can already be viewed on the department's website. But the legislation would also allow for information to be made public when compliance action is taken against providers, like when an infringement notice is issued. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said dealing with the safety of children in childcare was above politics. "I can't think of many issues in my time in this parliament that have made me feel as physically sick as this one has, and I know this feeling is shared by members across the aisle," she told parliament. There were still issues with sharing information on working-with-children checks between jurisdictions, Mr Clare said, and more work would be done at an upcoming meeting of state and federal attorneys-general. State, territory and federal ministers are also expected to meet in August to discuss other changes, including mandatory CCTV in childcare centres, establishing a national worker registry and mandatory child-safety training. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 Parents could be forced to monitor the quality and safety of their kids' childcare providers unless the industry's fragmentation is addressed. The federal government on Wednesday fast-tracked the introduction of a bill that could strip public funding from childcare operators that fail to meet safety standards, among other measures. Though parent and children's advocacy groups have welcomed the bill, there are also calls for a national early-childhood commission to ensure consistent oversight and accountability across Australia. "Parents deserve to know that their child is safe in care," The Parenthood chief executive Georgie Dent said. "Without a national leader to oversee, monitor and regulate quality and safety, the onus is still on parents - many of whom have little choice around their reliance on child care." This national watchdog is particularly important for those outside the capital cities as one of Labor's big second-term promises was to expand universal access to early education. "For rural, regional and remote communities, this stewardship is absolutely critical," said Jacqui Emery, chief executive of country children's charity Royal Far West. "Every Australian child, regardless of where they live, deserves access to safe, high-quality early learning." Labor expedited its bill and introduced it to the House of Representatives on Wednesday after a Victorian childcare worker was charged with dozens of sex offences involving children in early July. State regulators can already shut a centre on the spot if there is an imminent threat to safety, but Education Minister Jason Clare said the Commonwealth should also try to lift standards through its available levers. "We have to do everything that we can to ensure the safety of our children when they walk or when they're carried through the doors of an early education and care service," he told parliament. "Funding is the big weapon that the Australian government has to wield here. "The real purpose of this legislation isn't to shut centres down but to raise standards." Childcare operators that fail to meet quality, safety and compliance standards could be prevented from opening new centres and might be cut off from receiving government subsidies, which typically cover a large proportion of parents' fees. Providers would be issued with a formal notice requiring an explanation within 28 days with the Department of Education able to cancel or suspend an operator's approval. "Providers that can improve their services to meet the standard will get the chance to do that," Mr Clare said. The bill also expands commonwealth powers to publish information about providers that are sanctioned for non-compliance. Information on centres for which childcare subsidy approvals have been suspended or cancelled can already be viewed on the department's website. But the legislation would also allow for information to be made public when compliance action is taken against providers, like when an infringement notice is issued. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said dealing with the safety of children in childcare was above politics. "I can't think of many issues in my time in this parliament that have made me feel as physically sick as this one has, and I know this feeling is shared by members across the aisle," she told parliament. There were still issues with sharing information on working-with-children checks between jurisdictions, Mr Clare said, and more work would be done at an upcoming meeting of state and federal attorneys-general. State, territory and federal ministers are also expected to meet in August to discuss other changes, including mandatory CCTV in childcare centres, establishing a national worker registry and mandatory child-safety training. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Worried parents demand national childcare watchdog
Parents could be forced to monitor the quality and safety of their kids' childcare providers unless the industry's fragmentation is addressed. The federal government on Wednesday fast-tracked the introduction of a bill that could strip public funding from childcare operators that fail to meet safety standards, among other measures. Though parent and children's advocacy groups have welcomed the bill, there are also calls for a national early-childhood commission to ensure consistent oversight and accountability across Australia. "Parents deserve to know that their child is safe in care," The Parenthood chief executive Georgie Dent said. "Without a national leader to oversee, monitor and regulate quality and safety, the onus is still on parents - many of whom have little choice around their reliance on child care." This national watchdog is particularly important for those outside the capital cities as one of Labor's big second-term promises was to expand universal access to early education. "For rural, regional and remote communities, this stewardship is absolutely critical," said Jacqui Emery, chief executive of country children's charity Royal Far West. "Every Australian child, regardless of where they live, deserves access to safe, high-quality early learning." Labor expedited its bill and introduced it to the House of Representatives on Wednesday after a Victorian childcare worker was charged with dozens of sex offences involving children in early July. State regulators can already shut a centre on the spot if there is an imminent threat to safety, but Education Minister Jason Clare said the Commonwealth should also try to lift standards through its available levers. "We have to do everything that we can to ensure the safety of our children when they walk or when they're carried through the doors of an early education and care service," he told parliament. "Funding is the big weapon that the Australian government has to wield here. "The real purpose of this legislation isn't to shut centres down but to raise standards." Childcare operators that fail to meet quality, safety and compliance standards could be prevented from opening new centres and might be cut off from receiving government subsidies, which typically cover a large proportion of parents' fees. Providers would be issued with a formal notice requiring an explanation within 28 days with the Department of Education able to cancel or suspend an operator's approval. "Providers that can improve their services to meet the standard will get the chance to do that," Mr Clare said. The bill also expands commonwealth powers to publish information about providers that are sanctioned for non-compliance. Information on centres for which childcare subsidy approvals have been suspended or cancelled can already be viewed on the department's website. But the legislation would also allow for information to be made public when compliance action is taken against providers, like when an infringement notice is issued. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said dealing with the safety of children in childcare was above politics. "I can't think of many issues in my time in this parliament that have made me feel as physically sick as this one has, and I know this feeling is shared by members across the aisle," she told parliament. "That these criminals have found their way into our centres and into the lives of our precious, innocent children is just appalling. So we do stand ready to continue to make sure that we get this right." There were still issues with sharing information on working-with-children checks between jurisdictions, Mr Clare said, and more work would be done at an upcoming meeting of state and federal attorneys-general. State, territory and federal ministers are also expected to meet in August to discuss other changes, including mandatory CCTV in childcare centres, establishing a national worker registry and mandatory child-safety training. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
The Guardian
20-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Is my child safe?': Jason Clare faces a quagmire in childcare crisis — fixing a sector without controlling all the levers
More than 1300 worried parents nationwide joined a webinar on safety in early education this week from families advocacy network The Parenthood, tuning in after weeks of sickening reports of alleged abuse at childcare centres. Georgie Dent, CEO of The Parenthood, said the allegations from Victoria had panicked families countrywide. 'I haven't seen parents' trust in safety rattled in the way it is now,' she told Guardian Australia. 'It's not just parents in Melbourne or Victoria being fearful of early childhood education – many are engaging for the first time, asking 'is my child safe?'' Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email It's the quagmire facing education minister Jason Clare and early childhood minister Jess Walsh as parliament returns on Tuesday for the first time since the election. While this week was meant to be a victory lap for the government – highlighting Labor's thumping 94-seat caucus, capped by giving a parade to their Hecs debt reduction bill – the minister now finds himself facing urgent demands to safeguard a system where he doesn't control all the levers, with critical safety functions shared across eight state and territory systems. Labor has put early education at the centre of its agenda following prime minister Anthony Albanese singling out universal childcare as his 'legacy' during the election campaign – by giving pay rises to educators, offering childcare in its free Tafe program, and widening access to subsidies. But providers say they need more to keep kids safe. One major Australian childcare provider said they needed Canberra to do more on safety training and lead the states into establishing nationally consistent rules on reporting systems and stripping working-with-children accreditation, which can vary by jurisdiction. 'States don't talk to each other,' one executive said. More training, including pupil-free days each year for training – like primary and high schools – has been mooted. 'Quality and safety are inextricably linked. Better qualified and experienced teachers translate to improved risk,' Dent said, calling better training for workers 'the most significant piece' in keeping kids safer. Clare will introduce a bill this fortnight empowering the commonwealth to terminate federal subsidies to childcare operators guilty of egregious safety breaches, ban providers failing minimum standards, boost unannounced spot-checks and issue public notices to underperforming centres. A separate push for a national worker database, tracking movements of staff, will be considered separately at a meeting of education ministers in August. Clare has admitted progress has been too slow; there are questions about why abhorrent childcare abuse uncovered in 2022 didn't already lead to wider system changes. But let's park that for now, and focus on what Clare and Walsh will put forward this fortnight. While the Coalition opposition has pledged to be constructive and are likely to support the government, acknowledging the need for swift action, some Liberals don't believe the government's plan goes to the core of child safety issues. Shadow assistant minister Zoe McKenzie warned it 'may not go far enough' – with many pertinent powers resting with the states, the Coalition will urge Labor to show more 'national leadership' and prod the states into swifter action. The states are moving on their own. Victoria announced its own childcare worker registration system, and will require childcare centres to adopt the federal ban on personal devices or face a $50k fine. Dent said it went beyond parents and families, going to a broader economic imperative; with more families than ever needing two incomes to stay afloat, giving confidence about kids' safety while parents work is critical to keeping food on the table, she said. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'This sector has grown out of necessity … but the regulation and oversight has not kept pace. Education access, workforce capacity, it's all under strain,' she said. 'Child safety is not being guaranteed across the board to the extent parents and children expect.' Providers say they're eager to make their centres safer, but with some announcing the roll out of CCTV cameras in early learning and more choices for parents over the care of their children. Some say the money could be better spent, instead suggesting training more educators to ensure children aren't left alone with just one teacher. Concern has also been raised about the misuse of captured footage. Ten months ago, a Productivity Commission report setting out a pathway to universal childcare recommended an independent commission to take a 'comprehensive national view'. The PC noted 'limited transparency and accountability – both from governments and service providers'. Dent and The Parenthood have long called for such a model, as have the largest childcare providers, saying a major national body was critical to tie together safety, training, regulation and monitoring. Clare has said the government has 'an open mind' about such a body to look at safety issues. Other major providers have praised federal pay rises for educators, and free Tafe for educators, as gamechangers – but raised concern about completion rates and the quality of some vocational courses. More must be done to attract good people and keep them in the industry. G8 Education, one of Australia's largest providers, welcomed changes to improve safety – but a spokesperson said 'harmonising policies, regulations, systems and processes' across different levels of government was urgently needed. They also backed a national registry of staff working with vulnerable people as well as a national registration scheme for teachers. Parents want assurance that their kids will be safe, but Australia's cross-jurisdictional system means it's not an easy fix. Clare's job will not be easy. 'We need to be reassuring parents the vast majority of services are good and there for the right reasons, most are really well qualified,' Dent said. 'The challenge is restoring confidence where it's warranted and raising alarm where it's needed.' 'Parents are distressed.'
Sky News AU
15-07-2025
- Sky News AU
'Have to step back and be realistic': Banning male workers from childcare centres not the solution, parenthood advocate says after accused paedophile charged
A leading advocate for parents has moved to quell calls to ban men from the childcare industry following a horror case of alleged child sex abuse in Melbourne, saying the solution must come at a systemic level instead. A recent police investigation exposed a string of harrowing alleged abuse against multiple children, carried out by accused pedophile Joshua Brown. Brown, who has worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne since 2017, was arrested on May 12 facing more than 70 child sex offences against eight alleged victims, who were in his care at the Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook between April 2022 and January 2023. The shocking case has left parents mortified, and sparked calls for male workers to either be shunned from the industry, or to restrict their interactions with children. In one instance, Inspire Early Learning, which operates 16 childcare centres across Victoria, banned male educators from changing nappies or toileting duties in the wake of the charges against Brown. CEO of The Parenthood Georgie Dent said while she completely understands parents are fearful and more cautious after the revelations, it wouldn't be fair to punish the male workers who are safe and positive role models. "I think that for male educators who work in early learning centres this has been a really difficult period of time because there has been a reaction, a strong reaction to say we don't think you should be here," she told Peter Stefanovic on Sky News' First Edition on Tuesday. "And what is disappointing about that is we know that children really benefit from having positive role models who are both male and female and for male educators who are there for the right reasons and doing the right thing, it's really distressing for them to be tarred with that brush that 'all men who work in this industry have obviously got some perversion'. "I think we have to step back and be realistic here that the answer to these abuse allegations is to strengthen the system, not to decide to perpetrate another injustice by saying men aren't welcome in this industry," she said. When asked what solutions the childcare industry needed to be looking at, Ms Dent said improvement of quality and safety at the top level was required. She also said The Parenthood had been campaigning for an early childhood commission to oversee changes to the system and called for key changes to be brought in for the industry. "We need a strong national working with children check system, we need a national educator register again so that we're seeing when a particular educator is moving between different jurisdictions, we need a national reportable conduct scheme," she said. "At the moment there's more than five different schemes available and it is so difficult to navigate and what this crisis has shown us is that parts of the system are not talking to each other and we have to make sure that child wellbeing and child safety is the paramount priority. "If it means privacy for a particular person is curtailed so that an employer is allowed to be told if there have been red flags in this person's employment history, I think most parents would reasonably expect that any childcare provider who's employing someone is able to see if there's any problems in their employment history." Ms Dent added that if childcare centres consistently failed to meet the minimum standards, then they should stop receiving ongoing funding from taxpayers or parents. "If a service is not meeting the minimum standards, which does occur, it should not be business as usual. There needs to be an intervention. And if that requires a service to be shut, then I think that's necessary," she said.
The Age
12-07-2025
- General
- The Age
The care fracture: how shocking abuse allegations have hit mothers
Writing on the professional women's website Women's Agenda this week, The Parenthood chief executive Georgie Dent also named this mother-blame phenomenon: 'In this moment of national grief and reckoning, the last thing families need is guilt piled on top of their fear and distress,' she wrote. 'And yet, some are using this crisis to argue that parents (but mostly mums) should just stay home – as if that's a real or simple choice for most families.' The blame and shame comments have been posted online on news articles about the abuse allegations, and in parenting forums on social media. On the longstanding parenting site Kidspot, columnist Lauren Robinson said she also uses childcare and noted: 'I'm sick of seeing that decision twisted into some suggestion of parental neglect.' Dr Emily Musgrove, resident psychologist on the hit podcast The Imperfects, on Thursday alluded to the resurfacing of the similarly enduring myth 'that the mum is available and responsible at all times'. 'My sense is we [mothers in this generation] are getting so much more exposed to guilt because we are violating this idealised mother role,' she said. Loading Numbers of women working are at a record high, as are numbers of children in early learning centres, supported by government policies encouraging women back to work. That backward ideas about working mothers have re-emerged following childcare abuse allegations has troubled advocates, especially as policies now exist to also support fathers to participate in childcare. The proportion of Australians grappling with juggling work and family care is not insignificant. In the March quarter of 2025, approximately 1,444,410 children from 1,015,790 families in Australia were using Child Care Subsidy (CCS)-approved care. These children attended an average of 27.5 hours of care per week. Data from the Australian Institute of Family Studies shows that as of the March quarter last year, 48 per cent of one-year-olds were enrolled in CCS-approved childcare services, up from 39 per cent in 2015. 'We are seeing an increasing proportion of new mothers remaining in employment after childbirth, with the proportion of employed mothers of an under-one-year-old increasing from 30 per cent in 1991 to 57 per cent in 2021,' a spokeswoman says. But academics including Melbourne University sociology professor Leah Ruppanner say the psychological burden of the tension between government policies – and economic conditions – that encourage both parents to work soon after having babies is still assigned primarily to mothers. Ruppanner's book, Drained, on women as the disproportionate mental load-bearers of parenting comes out next year. Anxiety triggered by disturbing childcare-abuse news is likely to also be felt by fathers, she said, but social pressure and responsibility for care of young children is still squarely on women. 'Mothers have an incredible amount of guilt, especially around whether they're being 'good' mothers, and now the energy of thinking about safety is just going to add one more layer to the mental load,' she says. 'We've been told women are solely responsible for the future of their children so you'd better not mess it up ... People think [mothers] have these open choices, but they don't. They're constrained economically, attitudinally.' Though she gains great satisfaction from her career as a registered psychologist south-west of Sydney, Alysha-Leigh Femeli says she has felt this tension between leaving young children in care – even during 'a very slow transition' – and the fulfilment of re-engaging in her work. She has treated families in the perinatal period for 13 years and is told by clients that they are so distressed by the recent child abuse allegations they are questioning if they should keep working. It is a sentiment voiced by one distressed mother interviewed on TV as she collected her toddler from Creative Gardens, the childcare centre at which alleged offender Joshua Dale Brown worked in south-western Melbourne. As the Victorian Department of Health prepared to text families of 1200 children aged five months to two years old, urging them to arrange STI tests for their babies and toddlers, the mother said she was questioning whether she should work. Loading Femeli says this is not an uncommon response. 'Women are terrified, really terrified, and I've had people wondering whether they should just pull their kids out of care because they feel so scared – this feels like something they hadn't even anticipated as an option. 'For a lot of women, working is a really important part of caring for their mental health,' she says. To have a break from [constantly caring for young children] can also be 'an important part of making sure they are wonderful mothers,' she says. Even so, 'I found it really hard going back to work, I had families [to see] but I felt heartbroken at the idea I would leave my babies … 'But I would always come back from work feeling really rejuvenated, like I'd gotten to use my brain; it was important for me to do be able to do that.' Femeli, a member of the Australian Association of Psychologists, describes the 'spike of anxiety' mothers may already feel when returning to work, and says it is driven by stubborn gender stereotypes. 'There is still a societal expectation that women will be the primary caregivers regardless of how much they are working: so you are going to 'fail' somewhere, either your employers or your responsibilities as a caregiver,' she says. 'I don't think I have a perinatal client who hasn't come with some level of guilt because they've had to go to work.' Unlike those in some European and Nordic countries, Australian culture expects mothers to take responsibility for childcare even when they are working and the mother's income is vital, she says. Yet mothers tell Femeli their sense is that their employment is considered more 'disposable'. Though the gender equality movement has fought to shift assumptions about parenting and women's right to participate in employment, clients feel the message still received is, 'when a woman comes back to work, it's almost like someone is doing her a favour by letting her come back'. And this is concerning. Femeli is among those calling for better support for mothers and families as they juggle financial imperatives and their need to provide quality care to babies and very young children, as she believes getting women into work has been a higher priority than supporting mothers and children. She urges mothers who may feel consumed with worry or guilt as a result of recent news to realise it is not normal and to speak to their GP rather than decide on changing their work pattern while feeling unsettled. As rates of young mothers working full-time increase, workplace gender equality consultant Prue Gilbert says corporate women are also reporting rising feelings of guilt, more so than in previous years. 'We are hearing in coaching that women are returning to work earlier [after having babies] than they have done in the past, and are more likely to be going back full-time,' says Gilbert, chief executive of the workplace/parents consultancy Grace Papers. On May 15, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released data showing women's participation in the workforce had reached a record high of 63.4 per cent. A general rise in employment participation 'was strongest for women workers, increasing by 65,000, including 42,000 full-time jobs'. 'The data indicates the federal government's commitment to Early Childhood Education and Care and working women's rights is helping more women to find and stay in secure jobs,' the bureau stated. Loading Gilbert says feelings of guilt came through as she reviewed coaching insights: 'Guilt kept on coming up in themes. We haven't heard it so strongly in quite a number of years.' She wonders if the earlier work return, driven by economic uncertainty and organisational restructuring, is contributing. Ironically, use-it-or-lose it parental leave policies for fathers, which mean they need to take their entitlement within the first 12 months of the baby's life or forfeit it, are contributing to mothers' earlier return to employment. This phenomenon has also crossed the radar of the Assistant Minister for Social Services, Ged Kearney. 'I went back to work seven weeks after my twins were born – it was a difficult choice, but the right one for me,' Kearney says. 'What made things even harder was the judgment I faced – it's horrible that in the 2020s we're still having this conversation. 'No parent should feel guilty for going or not going back to work and every parent deserves to know their children are safe and cared for.' As her government prepares to bring legislation to parliament to cut off funding to early education centres that put profit over child safety, Georgie Dent continues to put pressure on it to create an independent national early childhood commission, as recommended by the Productivity Commission's landmark review. It would oversee safety, quality, access, workforce and funding, and ensure children are protected and services are accountable – reassurance parents need. Loading 'For so many households with young children, they are having a really hard time: financially, economically ... it's a luxury position to be able to stay afloat on one income,' says Dent. 'I have seen an unprecedented level of anguish and distress among parents … and been thinking about how it's so cruel to add guilt on top of that.'
