A couple raising two young children in regional Victoria say changes to the early childhood subsidy will give them greater flexibility to work the hours they want.
Jonathan Astrand-Ferris and his wife Georgia are raising Alfred, 3, and four-month-old Frances, in Bendigo in central Victoria.
They say getting an increased subsidy back from July next year will mean they can budget a little easier amid the increasing cost of living.
"I work full time, and Georgia would like to work at least three or four days a week," Mr Astrand-Ferris said.
"With the changes now, it doesn't really need to be the question of if she can go back to work or not. It's more natural that she can if she wants to."
Subsidy weighted against income
Under the new legislation, all families would have their childcare subsidy rate increased unless their total income was $530,000 or more.
Families earning up to $80,000 will be refunded 90 per cent of their first child's fees before that proportion decreases by one per cent for every extra $5,000 earned.
Mr Astrand-Ferris' son has attended Jenny's Early Learning Centre at Bendigo Health for the past two years and next year will be joined by his younger sister.
He said his son, Alfred, had become more confident and social because of his time in childcare.
He said he and his wife had to look into the cost of childcare after having their second child.
"We might have had to make the change to not put Francis in as many days or take Alfie out and stay home," he said.
Jenny's Early Learning Centre managing director Darren Reid said his organisation provided families with a price-for-life guarantee.
"So our families never see an increase in their fees across the journey that they're with [us]," he said.
Operators say sector benefits
Mr Reid said the increased subsidy would demolish financial barriers which prevented children from accessing quality care and education.
He said the subsidy would also provide more of a gap between income and expenses for early childhood operators.
"Coupled with the federal government's increase in subsidy, we'll see over 95 per cent of our families continuing to be better off," Mr Reid said.
Bendigo MP Lisa Chesters said about 5,000 Bendigo families would be better off under the new plan.
She said a family earning $120,000 with one child in early education and care would be more than $1,700 better off.
But the federal Opposition said it had serious concerns about the pressures Labor's legislation would put on the sector.
"Labor's plan for childcare will see prices skyrocket," a spokesperson said.
"The last time they were in office, prices increased by a whopping 53 per cent in just six years."
Ms Chesters said the fee structure would continue to be based on the centre fee, parents' income and then the percentage they got back.
Childcare under microscope
Ms Chesters said childcare costs had increased 41 per cent in the past eight years.
The changes to the childcare subsidy will begin on July 1 next year.
The federal government's 12-month inquiry by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission into the rising cost of childcare will begin in January at a proposed cost of $10.8 million.
The federal Opposition said the inquiry wouldn't report back until the end of next year, and families could not wait until 2024.
