A report by the Centre for Independent Studies has found there is little evidence of benefit from recent childcare regulation reforms that increase the cost of childcare to both families and taxpayers.
The study, undertaken by policy analyst Trisha Jha, reviewed Australian and overseas research on staff-to-child ratios and staff qualifications, and found that the more stringent regulations do not necessarily lead to better outcomes for children.
“The evidence suggests that the benefits — where they do exist — are small,” Ms Jha said. “Australian research indicates that lower staff-to-child ratios improves behavioural outcomes for children, but neither lower ratios nor more qualified staff have an effect on their cognitive outcomes.”
She said that while the National Quality Agenda introduced in 2012 is aimed at increasing the quality of childcare services through stricter minimum standards and a more rigorous quality assessment process, it also increases the cost of childcare.
“The government and childcare advocates say the costs are worthwhile because the reforms will increase the quality of childcare and that higher-quality childcare is beneficial to children.
“If more money is to be spent on early childhood education the focus should be on ensuring access to high-quality care for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, rather than spreading the expenditure to achieve marginal increases in quality for all children.
“The evidence of impact for high-quality programs for disadvantaged children is indisputable. But the notion that spending more on the kind of formal childcare system we have here in Australia constitutes an ‘investment’ in children provided it is of sufficient quality is not backed up by evidence.”
Ms Jha’s report also examined how the government estimated the cost of the reforms, and found several key areas were ignored in the estimation process.
“How the reforms might impact the supply of childcare places and the ability of both parents to work were not modelled. This is in spite of the fact that these issues greatly affect families,” she said.
“Ultimately, the key purpose of government involvement in childcare is to help parents balance work and family. If the new policy undermines that goal — and the facts suggest it does — then it needs to be reconsidered.”
Ms Jha’s report concluded that the National Quality Framework reforms are not supported by a strong evidence base and are likely to increase the cost of childcare for families and taxpayers more than has been estimated. Any marginal increased in ‘quality’ or improvement in child outcomes across the board will potentially come at the expense of pricing out low-income families, whose children gain most benefit from childcare.
“These reforms have been sold as an investment — one that generates returns for society. But since the benefits are unclear, and the costs have been underestimated, these reforms do not represent value for money — and are not an investment.”
“A close reading of the evidence suggests that there is no reason why the new minimum standards and quality regulations should be considered a sacred cow. The minister in charge of childcare, Sussan Ley, shouldn’t be taken in by special interests.”
Trisha Jha is a policy analyst at the Centre for Independent Studies, specialising in childcare policy and social policy.
She has been interviewed on policy matters for ABC Radio National, ABC 702’s Drive, Radio 6PR Perth, ABC News, Sky News Viewpoint and Sky News Contrarians.
Report: https://www.cis.org.au/images/stories/policy-monographs/pm142.pdf
Snapshot:https://www.cis.org.au/images/stories/policy-monographs/pm142-snapshot.pdf