A woman on TikTok has called out the grim reality many parents face in affording early childhood education and care in Australia, sharing how the strict requirements of the “activity test” impacted her family after she was made redundant.
The video, posted by Melbourne mother and TikTok content creator @taylor_ku, has been seen tens of thousands of times, with many parents relating to her story.
“I’m screwed,” the woman says in the video. “I’m going to need someone to explain this to me and make it make sense.”
As she explains, the woman recently was made redundant at work, so she changed the number of “activity hours” she has each fortnight on her Centrelink account to reflect her redundancy.
This is so she can receive the Child Care Subsidy to send her daughter to childcare. As per the federal government’s Child Care Subsidy program, the number of hours a parent is active – working, volunteering or completing other recognised activities – affects the amount of the subsidy the parent is eligible to receive.
“Now, obviously I’m working less… but now (that) technically I’m unemployed, they are giving me significantly less (in) child care subsidy,” the woman said.
“I get that I’m doing less, therefore she (the woman’s daughter) doesn’t really need to be in childcare – but I can’t give up her spot.
“It took us like a year to get her spot in childcare, and I can’t just pull her out and then hope that I can get her in a spot again once I get a new job.
“Does this make sense to anyone? ‘Cause it’s not making sense to me.”
‘An impossible bind’
Georgie Dent is the CEO of The Parenthood, an organisation campaigning for better support for parents and carers in Australia. The Parenthood has criticised the government’s activity test for the Child Care Subsidy in the past, and Dent said the woman’s story on TikTok is yet further proof of the need to reform this “deeply flawed” eligibility system.
“That video captures the cruelty of the activity test in its current form,” Dent told Women’s Agenda.
“The mum also spoke about another issue which will be very familiar to lots of families that have children under five – that it took a year to get the place of their child in suitable care.
“Giving up the position means that if and when she does get another job, she’s going to have to go through that process again of trying to secure a position.”
The activity test was established by the government for the Child Care Subsidy in 2018 as a way to incentivise parents returning to work: essentially, the more you earn, the more you can receive as part of the Child Care Subsidy.
But Dent said in practice, the activity test puts parents and families in an “impossible bind”, where they must choose between their income and their children.
“The activity test is a deeply flawed policy and desperately needs reform,” Dent said.
“It was meant to incentivise work, but in reality, parents who don’t have a shift or a job cannot afford the out-of-pocket cost for early education and care because they don’t meet the requirements of the test. At the same time, if they don’t have suitable care lined up, they cannot take a shift or find work.
“The idea that the subsidy received is reduced because you have been made redundant – when you’re in a position of trying to find work, it’s just an impossible bind for parents and families.”
The Parenthood estimates the activity test puts approximately 40,000 out of work, and about 160,000 children miss out on early childhood education.
Dent said there should be universal access to childcare in Australia, the same way school-aged children can receive a free education.
“If you think about primary school, nobody asks how many hours a parent is working when they enrol their child in school, and that’s because we’re really comfortable with the fact that children deserve to access public education,” Dent said.
“We need to use that frame around the early years as well, because we know that what happens between zero and five years old in terms of brain development is the most profound window of development.
“Getting the early years right quite literally sets children up to succeed long term over the course of their lives.”
A spokesperson from the Australian government’s Department of Education said while it cannot comment on individual cases, “the hours of subsidised care a family is eligible for depends on their activity level”.
“The Australian Government understands that early childhood education and care access and affordability can be challenging – particularly under the circumstances outlined,” the spokesperson said.
“Recognised activities for the purposes of CCS include work, study or actively looking for work. The higher the level of activity, the more hours of subsidised care families are eligible for. Exemptions apply for parents who cannot meet activity test requirements.
“In addition, families whose annual adjusted taxable income is $83,280 or less can get 24 hours of subsidised care per fortnight under the Child Care Safety Net, even when they are not participating in any recognised activities.
“A temporary financial hardship subsidy is available for families who are eligible for CCS, are experiencing temporary financial hardship due to an event including unexpected loss of employment and have a substantially reduced ability to pay child care fees. Families can apply through their Centrelink myGov online account.”