A study of childcare in developed countries has highlighted the need for reform in Australia, where data shows families from wealthy suburbs have far better access to services than those living in disadvantaged areas.
Analysis by an international team of researchers – including Victoria University’s Mitchell Institute – showed Australia’s profit-driven system encouraged childcare providers to establish services in affluent neighbourhoods, where they can charge up to $200 a day.
Australia came fourth out of nine developed countries for childcare accessibility, after the Nordic nations, in the study’s rankings.
France – where it is compulsory for children to start school at three – had the highest childcare accessibility for children aged three to six. However, children aged up to two years had the worst access to childcare of all nations studied.
Using government data, the researchers compared …