ease the childcare burden and give parents more options as they return to work.
The $155 million program will also be a much-needed stimulus for the out-of-school hours care industry, which once struggled to cope with demand but is now fighting to remain viable after two years of low enrolments due to COVID-19 uncertainty and parents working from home.
As students in the Catholic system return to classrooms on Monday, and public school students head back on Tuesday, Premier Dominic Perrottet said parents could apply for the vouchers through Service NSW from February 28 throughout the school year.
The vouchers – similar to the Dine and Discover program – will cover the parent gap fee, which is the portion paid by families after the Commonwealth-funded child care subsidy is applied. The daily cost of after-school care ranges from $20 to $40, and for middle-income parents the gap fee is about half.
Mr Perrottet stated that “Before and After School Care (BASC) services are more important than ever as families return to work following the holidays, It’s been a challenging past couple of years for parents of school-aged children. Many have had to juggle the demands of supervising their kids’ education at home while working remotely, or even forgoing paid work. These vouchers for before and after school care will help alleviate some of the financial pressures on NSW families and provide greater flexibility and more options for those who need to work.”
Before the pandemic, waiting lists for out-of-hours care services were so long in some areas that Coalition insiders said the Berejiklian government’s 2019 election promise to provide enough places for children at schools in Sydney and major regional centres “turned the dial” for many female voters.
However, since March 2020 the sector has suffered a significant drop in enrolments due to lockdowns, anxiety about COVID-19 and working from home directives, with many parents not needing extended care because they do not commute and can supervise their children while working. The scheme potentially removes a barrier for parents to return to the office.
