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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 3 Hansard (23 October) . . Page.. 4093 ..

What proportion of child care places in centre based child care centres are provided by:

private/ independent;

government/private;

What checks and balances are in place to ensure that OH&S issues are being adhered to by the various centres within the child care industry;

What checks and balances are in place to ensure that award wages, including penalty rates (as a minimum), are being paid to childcare professionals within the sector;

What is the government doing to address the large turnover of staff within the sector;

Does the government conduct audits of all registered child care centres in the ACT and if so, how frequently, and if not, why not.

Ms Gallagher

As at 25 September 2003 there are:

24 private; and,

67 community based or not-for-profit centre based children's services in the ACT.

(a) The private sector provides 22% of places within centre based children's services.

The community and not-for-profit sector provides 78% of places within centre based children's services.

Requirements to ensure safety for children and staff are covered in the ACT Conditions for Approvals in Principle and Licences. Centres in the ACT must also comply with ACT Workcover legislation.

Children's services employers are responsible for wages and conditions of services for their employees. Licence conditions for operators provide standards for the education and safety of children.

The ACT Government is assisting services to address the turnover of staff in a number of ways including:

contributing to the Community Services Ministers' Advisory Council Children's Services Sub-committee who are working on national workforce project to support the early childhood sector.

having commissioned the ACT Childcare Workforce Planning Project released in early 2003.

supporting services through the provision of training and staff development opportunities.

Unannounced visits of services to ensure compliance are conducted throughout the year. In addition the Office of Child Care conducts audit visits to ensure compliance on selected conditions in the ACT Conditions for Approvals in Principle and Licences. The last audit occurred in September 2003.

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