Overview

Child care services are among the most effective support services that governments can provide for families, yet at the present time public provision is appallingly low. Although the Commonwealth government has been involved in this area for over a decade the lack of explicit policy and planning, and the low level of expenditure on the Children's Services Program, have resulted in an acute shortage of all forms of child care and severe inequities in the distribution of services. The ALP program of services states that 'access to community child care is a right'. The policy implications of this are as yet unknown.

Policy background paper (Australian Institute of Family Studies) no. 2