Public hearing on Early Years Quality Fund

THE administration of the Early Years Quality Fund (EYQF) will be the focus of a public hearing tomorrow by Parliament’s Joint Public Accounts Committee.

The committee will hear from representatives of United Voice and Good Start Early Learning.

Committee Chair, Dr Andrew Southcott MP, said that a number of issues raised in the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report on the EYQF required further public scrutiny.

“The ANAO noted that the level of funding available under the EYQF, which was estimated to only cover around 30 per cent of all long day care workers, meant the program would most likely be oversubscribed. Indeed, the $300 million funding cap was reached less than 13 hours after the application process commenced.

“The report concluded that the design of the EYQF policy contained inherent risks and it was foreseeable that these risks—particularly the funding constraints, the first-in first served approach and the short timeframes—would affect access to the program and its ultimate success. The committee will be interested to hear the views of the union and Australia’s largest day care provider on the findings of the ANAO report," Dr Southcott said.

The EYQF was established in July 2013 to provide grants to long day care providers in order to supplement wage increases for childcare workers for a period of two years. The EYQF was ceased in late 2013 and replaced with an alternative program.

The ANAO’s findings and recommendations are set out in Report No. 23 (2014-15), Administration of the Early Years Quality Fund.

Public hearing date: Thursday, 15 October 2015
Venue: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra
Program
10.45am United Voice
11.30am Good Start Early Learning (via teleconference)
12.15pm Close

Further information about the committee’s inquiry, including the program for the hearing, can be accessed from the committee’s website at www.aph.gov.au/jcpaa. The hearing will also be streamed live at http://www.aph.gov.au/News_and_Events/Watch_Parliament.

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