Anthony Albanese is hoping to woo voters with a huge pre-election promise to make childcare accessible to all Australian families.
If re-elected, subsidized child care will no longer depend on how many hours parents work, guaranteeing all families three days of discounted early childhood education.
The Three Day Guarantee proposal, which will be announced by the Prime Minister in Brisbane on Wednesday, will ensure that 70,000 families who are currently ineligible for subsidies due to the so-called “activity test” can access childcare.
Currently, a child can only get a taxpayer-funded place three days a week if their parent or guardian worked, studied or volunteered between 8 and 16 hours a fortnight.
The pre-election sweetener is expected to win back votes for Albanese, whose popularity has plummeted after a series of blunders.
Last year, he faced a wave of criticism after pushing the failed Indigenous Voice referendum into Parliament.
In October, he caused outrage by spending $4.3 million on a clifftop mansion on the New South Wales Central Coast, amid a housing and cost of living crisis.
More recently, he has been questioned for taking two days to call the firebombing of the Melbourne synagogue last week a terrorist attack.
The Prime Minister will say in his speech that the changes will “ensure that every family can afford three days of high-quality early education”, the Herald of the sun reported.
Prime Minister Albanese will promise subsidized childcare services for an estimated 70,000 more Australian families (pictured with the Prime Minister at a Brisbane childcare center in July)
Labor will pledge to scrap the “activity test”, meaning families earning up to $530,000 will be guaranteed three days of discounted childcare (pictured, a child in nursery).
“Affordable for all families, funded for all children, building a better education system every step of the way,” Mr Albanese will say.
Labour’s pledge will guarantee three days of subsidized childcare for every family earning up to $530,000 a year.
Parents who work, study or volunteer for 48 hours or more every fortnight will be able to access up to five days of discounted childcare.
It comes after the Productivity Commission earlier this year recommended that the fortnightly hours quota be scrapped because it prevented families from working and prevented thousands of children from attending early education.
Albanese will confirm Labour’s plan to “build a universal childcare system” but will clarify that it is not “mandatory or compulsory”.
“The choice will depend on the parents,” he will say.
“But… we want to make sure your decision isn’t dictated by where you live or what you do.”
The Prime Minister will add that childcare is driven by “one thing only”, which is what a parent wants for their child.
The Albanian government wants all Australian children to have access to “high-quality early education” (pictured is a file photo of a nursery school)
Labor’s next budget is expected to reveal subsidy funding will rise to $3.1 billion over the next four years.
Many organizations supported the Productivity Commission’s recommendation, calling the activity test “unfair”.
The Women’s Economic Equality Task Force’s 2023 report also called for the activity test to be abolished, showing that up to 81,680 women would enter the workplace and increase their hours, increasing GDP by 4.5 billion dollars per year.