The Abbott Government is honouring its commitment to provide $9.8 million for Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) to trial online foreign language learning for children in preschool programmes in 2015.
The Abbott Government will deliver the largest-ever government investment in professional development for long day care educators through a $200 million, three-year Long Day Care Professional Development Programme. This funding has been redirected from the previous government’s defunct Early Years Quality Fund.
The Government will better target Jobs Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance and the Community Support Programme so that the Government can repair the Budget and strengthen Australia’s future.
Jobs Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance will provide parents on income support, who require child care, a maximum payment of $8 per hour, and those who undertake study will be eligible to receive assistance for up to 36 hours per week per child. This measure will take effect from January 2015.
Eligibility for family day care for the Community Support Programme will be brought into line with other service types such as long day care and outside school hours care.
This will ensure funds are targeted to assist services in disadvantaged or regional, rural and remote communities where child care is considered unviable to operate or there has been clear market failure. The Operational Support payments will be capped at $250,000. This measure will take effect from 1 July 2015.
The Child Care Accessibility Fund grants programme will not proceed due to the application process finding most proposals would not increase supply of child care.
The Government is making decisions that repair the Budget, strengthen the economy and prepare Australia for the long-term challenges before us.