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Govt sticks by child care quality

The government’s war on red tape extends to child care centres, but it won’t be throwing away a quality regulation system set up under Labor despite a crossbench senator’s calls for deregulation.

New Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm says less regulation of child care would make it cheaper for parents.

“It used to be possible for friendly parents to provide childcare for their neighbours … and they were charged for it and that’s no longer legal,” he told the ABC on Saturday.

He’d like to see the sector deregulated so people didn’t need credentials if they wanted to look after a small number of children.

Assistant Minister for Education Sussan Ley says it’s one thing to cut red tape, as the government is doing, but another thing entirely to lower regulation of the quality of carers parents entrust their children to.

“(We will) work with the settings that are in place to make sure that all of the money that goes into this from governments and from parents is aimed at the high quality early learning and care and not at the filling in of forms,” she said.

The government expects to receive a draft Productivity Commission review into child care by the end of the month.

A separate review of the national quality framework is also happening, as agreed by all states and territories with the commonwealth when they new system was set up.

Labor said what Senator Leyonhjelm appeared to be proposing would compromise children’s safety.

“We want to make sure we do not abandon (high quality care) and put the safety of children at risk,” early childhood spokeswoman Amanda Rishworth said.

“It is not babysitting; it’s about education.”

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