All children should have access to high-quality childhood education services for at least three days a week, and to achieve this, the federal government must tackle affordability challenges, the Productivity Commission found in a final report published on Wednesday.
What are the key recommendations?
If these changes are implemented, at least half of Australian families would benefit and early childhood education attendance would increase by 10 per cent thanks to improved participation from low and middle-income families.
“All children should be able to access the transformational benefits of quality, early childhood education and care, no matter their background or postcode,” she said.
Addressing workforce shortages
The report comes after the federal government introduced laws on Thursday to increase the wages of childcare workers by 15 per cent over two years in a bid to attract more people to the sector.
Higher childcare attendance allowed more parents to return to the workforce and state governments should also provide outside-of-school hours care for children in public primary schools, the report says.
What happens next?
The commission recommends an independent body be established to support, advise and monitor governments’ progress.