Australia's Childcare Costs to Increase In 2018; Crisis Puts Pressure on Tony Abbott to Fullfil Promise

The cost of childcare in Australia is expected to increase in 2018 as parents continue to deal with the challenges of childcare affordability. The Department of Education has released new data indicating a significant rise in the next few years.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, parents who usually pay up to $100 per day for childcare should be ready to pay $40 more by 2018 while those shelling out $80 can expect to pay $32 more in the same period. The new figures suggest Australian childcare fees will have an average increase of 7 percent every year over four years or a 29.1 percent surge by 2018.

Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey's previous budget update saw a $2.4 billion increase in childcare payments than expected with the burden of additional costs to be carried by parents looking to join the workforce. The rising costs of childcare means several parents will go beyond the childcare rebate threshold for assistance to reclaim 50 percent of their out-of-pocket costs.

The current threshold allows parents to claim a maximum of $7,500 for every child every year under the same system, according to the Department of Human Services. Hockey said the government plans to announce a "comprehensive families" package in 2015 that would include childcare and parenting leave initiatives. The treasurer had declared that the changes in childcare costs would give more work participation opportunities for parents.

However, Kate Ellis, the Shadow Early Childhood Education Minister Kate Ellis, said the new projections released by the education department just shows "another broken promise." She accused Prime Minister Tony Abbott of breaking his promise to make childcare more affordable but families still continue to face bigger increases in costs. Ellis said in a statement sent to the Daily Mail that the Abbott government is only good at "breaking every promise" it has made.

A national advocacy group on parenting has recently urged the government to redirect funds allotted for Mr. Abbott's paid parental leave scheme into childcare and early childhood education. A survey conducted across Australia by The Parenthood has revealed that 90 percent of the 1,200 parent respondents wanted more support for childcare. Previous reports have indicated that Mr. Abbott was considering changes to this policy in an effort to win the support of the senate in 2015.