Aussie parents who have at least two kids in childcare are set to receive a boost from the Federal Budget after Treasurer Josh Frydenberg unveiled a $1.7 billion package.
Designed to encourage more women back into the workforce after having children, the package will slash out-of-pocket costs for working families with young kids.
From July, the childcare subsidy for families with two or more children aged five and under will increase to a maximum of 95 per cent.
The measure has been forecast to save as many as 250,000 families as much as $2,260 a year.
For example, a family on a combined income of $80,000 with two kids in childcare will save around $54 a week while families on a combined income of $140,000 will be around $125 a week better off.
The current maximum for the childcare subsidy is 85 per cent.
The package is one of a raft of new measures expected to be announced in the 2021 Federal Budget, set to be handed down on May 11.
Speaking to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the entire budget would be aimed at increasing employment opportunities.
“This will be another pandemic budget being delivered in the midst of a once-in-a-hundred year pandemic and just seven months after the last budget,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“The Budget will lay out the next phase of Australia’s economic recovery plan, to grow our economy so we can deliver the jobs and guarantee the essential services Australians rely on, and keep Australians safe.”
Mr Frydenberg said the government’s clear goal was to reduce the unemployment rate below five per cent.
“We first want to drive the unemployment rate down to where it was prior to the pandemic and then even lower. And we want to see that sustained,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“The last time Australia had a sustained period of unemployment below 5 per cent was between 2006 and 2008, just prior to the GFC.
“Before that, you need to go all the way back to the early 1970s.”
HOW THE $1.7 BILLION CHILDCARE PACKAGE WILL WORK
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