Summary: It is commonly stated that there is a need for flexible child care to be available to parents especially for those who work variable or non-standard hours, given the 24/7 nature of today's labour market. But Australian and international research shows that parents' decision-making about work and child care is complex and varied. This...

This occasional paper is the third in a series on the National Quality Framework (NQF). The paper reports on activities to promote consistency and efficiency in the implementation and administration of the NQF, which are key functions of the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) under the Education and Care Services National Law...

The federal government believes there's wide-scale rorting going on in the family day care sector, as a report in The Australian alleges taxpayers have lost more than $1 billion in the past two years through systemic rorting. Family day care is more difficult to regulate than centre-based care, because children are minded in private homes...

Australia’s education and care sector continues to grow and ongoing improvement is taking place under the National Quality Standard (NQS), according to new data released by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). ACECQA Chief Executive Officer Karen Curtis said the performance of services in reassessment was particularly pleasing, with two-thirds of services...

In the 1980s the Australian Personal Income Tax was highly progressive and family payments were universal. The system ranked well in terms of gender equity and female labour supply incentives. During the Howard years the progressivity of the rate scale declined dramatically despite rising inequality in wages, income and wealth, and the individual as the...