By Stephanie Ferrier
The Victorian Government has accused Canberra of failing to properly fund compliance checks in the family day care sector, leaving the industry open to fraudsters claiming millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money.
The political showdown was expected to be brought to a head at the Education Council meeting of state, territory and federal ministers on December 16.
Differing interpretations in national laws governing the approval of service providers had exacerbated the impasse, with the Federal Government countering it was the states’ responsibility to approve and conduct compliance checks.
Victorian Children’s Minister Jenny Mikakos said the number of family day care providers — where care is provided in educator’s own homes rather than in childcare centres — had skyrocketed by 300 per cent in the past four years, particularly in Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs.
She said federal funding for compliance checks had failed to keep pace and she was concerned family day care had “become a licence to print money”, with Commonwealth childcare benefit and rebates being paid to fraudsters.
Claims made for ‘ghost children’.
While the family day care sector represented only 10 per cent of child care services, it made up almost 80 per cent of Victoria’s enforcement actions, including 62 cancellations of service approval.
“They [the compliance officers] are knocking on the door and they’re finding the blinds are drawn, they can hear voices inside the house, yet no-one’s opening the door and then a claim for payment is being made to the Federal Government,” Ms Mikakos said.