Submission to NSW Government's Women's Economic Opportunities Review

While childcare has long been understood as a prerequisite to increasing women’s workforce participation, it is equally important to appreciate that women (along with men) also value the importance of outcomes for their children in terms of education, mental, physical, social well-being as well as the future roles their children will play in their older and adult lives.

Hence through this larger lens, ACA NSW has submitted to the NSW Government's Women's Economic Opportunities Review ideas, suggestions, proposals, recommendations and solutions that will support all women (and men) as working parents, including:

• the ability to (optionally) convert some or all of their long service leave into contribution for their personal superannuation under more favourable tax rates;
• abolishing payroll tax for the remainder of the early childhood education and care sector (similar to the long existing exemptions to GST and land tax);
• ensuring all NSW children (not just some) in their year(s)-before-school receives free preschool programs;
• developing a NSW Education App that provides all parents with access to their children’s developmental progress;
• establishing appropriate and measurable children’s outcomes from quality early childhood education and care;
• updating the existing regulatory framework so that it is fit-for-purpose;
• removing government restraints that stop service providers from reducing their operational costs and fees; and
• leveraging NSW’s regulatory sandbox program to continually develop future regulatory frameworks that are fit-for-purpose.

ACA NSW will continue to engage both the NSW Government, the Federal Government and the respective parliaments especially in anticipation of the upcoming elections.

For any further information/clarification, please contact the ACA NSW team on 1300 556 330 or nsw@childcarealliance.org.au.

PUBLISHED: 8 MARCH 2022