Anne Aly
Cowan · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“We're also delivering a permanent two-year loss carry-back for companies with a turnover of up to $1 billion so that they can return to profitability faster. We're cutting red tape and lowering compliance costs by removing a further 497 nuisance tariffs. That's going to save businesses around $127 million a year.”
“The Albanese Labor government backs in that ambition and that aspiration because we understand that, when Australia's 2.77 million small businesses grow, local communities grow with them.”
“I want to thank the member for Tangney for his question but also for his incredible advocacy for small businesses in his electorate of Tangney. It wasn't that long ago that the member for Tangney and I visited a really impressive small business in Willetton, the Willetton Trophy Centre.”
“That's why we're delivering real change for Australians, including tax cuts for workers and sole traders, something that the three right-wing parties voted against. We back all taxpayers on this side of the House. We back families, we back parents and we back small business.”
“There's our multicultural communities in Cowan, as well: the Macedonian community, our Vaishnav Sangh, Mirrabooka mosque, Perth North Tamil School, the Multicultural Services Centre, Malaga Multicultural Alliance, the Organisation of African Communities, Sacred India Gallery, the New Life Christian Centre and the Kenyan Community in WA.”
“I just want to give a shout-out to these groups: the Greenwood Street Pantry; the Lions Club of Wanneroo; Fostering Hope; No Limits; the various men's sheds, which I know everybody has in their electorates; 12 Buckets, who do amazing work with young people; the Marangaroo Family Centre; our Vietnamese Seniors Association; Wheelchairs for…”
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“We will work with the sector on the development of changes and how they could be implemented so that, if a service provider persistently isn't meeting quality standards or has gross and egregious breaches under the education and care services national law, they will be prevented from opening new childcare subsidy approved services. Also, compliance action can be taken against providers that persistently fail to meet quality standards or repetitively breach the education and care services national law, including the possibility of cutting off access to government subsidies in serious cases. We are putting a stop to providers that put profit ahead of the children they care for.”
“So today we are acting swiftly and decisively and we are sending a clear message to that small number of unscrupulous providers that, if you fail to provide quality care and a safe environment for children, you do not belong in early childhood education and care. While state and territory governments remain responsible for ensuring services in their jurisdictions are operating within the National Quality Framework, the Albanese Labor government will continue to use our significant investment in the early childhood education sector as a lever to strengthen quality and integrity. Today I can announce that we can look to better leverage Commonwealth funding to drive quality and integrity in the early childhood education and care sector.”
“Overwhelmingly, this is the case, with our children well looked after by dedicated professionals who care deeply about safety, child development and early education. However, there are a small number of providers who are consistently and persistently failing to provide quality care and a safe environment. There is no room for this kind of behaviour in the early childhood education sector, and, if you are persistently failing to meet minimum quality standards in delivering safe early childhood education and care, you should not have access to government funding and you should not be providing care. Now, while there are only a very small number of providers in the sector not behaving in line with our expectations, when it comes to child's safety, even one dodgy provider is too many.”
“We are also establishing a $1 billion building early childhood education fund and, through the fund, around 160 centres will be built and expanded in areas of need, including in the regions and outer suburbs. The fund will increase the availability of early childhood education and care for Australian families across the country delivered by quality not-for-profit providers. As we continue to build the universal early childhood education and care system, we continue to ensure that children receive high-quality care with child safety and wellbeing at the core. As we build the universal system that our children deserve and that meets the needs of families, nothing is more important than making sure children are receiving high-quality early childhood education and care.”
“There are 42,000 more educators and, most importantly, there are an additional 97,000 more children in early childhood education and care. But we want even more children to access and have access to high-quality early childhood education and care. Because we believe that every child has the right to get the best possible start in life, we've abolished the Liberals' prohibitive activity test and replaced it with a three-day guarantee so children don't start school behind. The three-day guarantee will replace the current activity test from January 2026, with guaranteed eligibility for three days a week of subsidised early education for children who need it.”
“The cheaper child care reforms cut the cost of early learning by more than 17 per cent when it was first introduced, with the average family using child care around $4,400 better off. We know that we can't reach our vision for universal early childhood education and care without a strong and sustainable workforce. That's why we are delivering a historic 15 per cent wage increase for early childhood workers to retain and attract our early childhood education workforce. We're also boosting this vital and dedicated workforce through our successful fee-free TAFE program. As a result of Labor's reforms, there are over 1,100 new services since we came to government, 30 per cent of which are outside of major cities.”
“by leave—I present a copy of my ministerial statement. The Albanese government recognises the transformative benefits of early childhood education and care for children and families and for our nation. That's why we are working to build a universal early childhood education and care system that is accessible for families no matter what your circumstances or background. I'm very proud of our record in early childhood education and care, of our work to build a quality universal system that is accessible, affordable and simple. Our cheaper child care reforms made early learning affordable for more than one million Australian families by cutting out-of-pocket costs.”
“That means 70,000 families will save $1,370 a year. Now, our reform rests on retaining and building a strong workforce. That's why we have a policy for fee-free TAFE. That's why we increased the wages of early childhood educators. But our reform does not stop there. We know there's more to do. We've got $1 billion set aside to build early childhood education and care services where they're needed, and a service delivery price which will help us underpin future reform. But I'm asked about threats. Let us start with the fact that the opposition has absolutely no plan, no vision and no policy for early childhood education and care. Instead, it has a plan—a secret plan—to cut essential services. We want to build; they want to cut. (Time expired)”
“We've made significant progress on reform towards a quality, universal early childhood education and care service that works for every single Australian child, informed by our ACCC inquiry and by our PC inquiry. Since our coming into government, there are now around 42,000 more educators in the sector,1,189 more services in the sector, 30 per cent of which are outside of major cities, and around 97,000 more children in early childhood education and care. Our cheaper child care reforms decreased the out-of-pocket costs by 17 per cent when they were first introduced. Now, that means an average family is $4,400 better off. We're building on that, of course, by capping fee increases as part of our worker wage rise. Recently, we introduced our three-day guarantee, scrapping the Liberals' prohibitive activity test.”
“I thank the member for Aston for her question. She's such a passionate advocate for children and families in Aston. And, like all the members on this side of the House, the member for Aston has continuously voted to support the families and the children in her electorate through cost-of-living measures that those opposite failed to vote for. It demonstrates just how much she really cares for families and children in Aston. When we came into office, we inherited an early childhood education and care sector that was in crisis. It really was in crisis. They couldn't find workers. There were all sorts of issues, particularly around the workforce. And it was expensive; the price kept on going up for parents. And we've made progress on reform.”
“Because of our cheaper childcare reforms, one million families are better off, to the tune of around $2,700. We're building on that by capping our fee increases as well. We have more educators in the sector, and vacancies are down by 22 per cent. There are more educators getting training and professional development to get into and stay in the sector that they love. Today, this House passed our three-day guarantee. I'm asked about risks. It's well known that the Liberals and the Nationals, those opposite, have opposed every cost-of-living measure we have put before this House—every single one of them. Today, they again—”
“I thank the wonderful member not just for her question but for her passion and her dedication to early childhood education and care for Australian children in her electorate and across Australia. It was very clear when we came into office that we inherited an early childhood education sector that was in desperate need of reform. We've made significant progress on reforming the sector across those three pillars—affordability, accessibility and a sustainable workforce—towards a vision of a universal early childhood education and care sector that is simple, affordable and accessible. Today, because of the actions of this government, there are 41,900 more educators in the sector. There are 1,083 more services, with 30 per cent of them outside major cities. There are 97,000 more children in early childhood education and care.”
“Only a Labor government will take action to ensure Australian families have access to quality and affordable early childhood education and care.”
“The risk is that the coalition will take us back to the days of high out-of-pocket expenses, when the cost of early childhood education skyrocketed by a staggering 49 per cent when they were last in government. The opposition don't have a policy, a plan or a vision for families or for early childhood education. Their only plan is $350 billion worth of cuts and a taxpayer funded long lunch. We will invest $1 billion to build early learning in the suburbs and the regions where they need them. We will guarantee every child has access to at least 72 hours of subsidised early childhood education and care per fortnight. We will continue to tackle affordability and out-of-pocket costs. We will ensure that early childhood education workers earn more and keep more of what they earn.”
“Our cheaper childcare reforms are provided more than one million Australian families with cost-of-living relief by cutting the cost of early learning. Our departmental data shows that a family earning $120,000 a year, accessing 30 hours of early childhood education and care a week, are better off by $2,768 since September 2023. That's more than $2,000 better off because of the policies of this Albanese Labor government. And that's not all: we have linked our historic early childhood wage increase to fee caps so providers can't increase their fees by more than 4.4 per cent in the first year and 4.2 per cent in the second year—lifting workers' wages while putting downward pressure on fees for families. I am asked if there is anything that could put all of this at risk and leave the families worse off.”
“I thank the amazing member for Hawke for his question. The member for Hawke gets it. He gets that an investment in early childhood education is an investment in an essential service that parents right across Australia rely on, a service that helps parents, especially women, get back into the workforce, and allows children to access those really transformational benefits of early childhood education and care. That's why the Albanese Labor government has embarked on an ambitious reform agenda, one that is principled on three pillars, underpinned by tackling affordability, supply and accessibility, and workforce stability. We have made significant progress across all of those three, but especially on affordability.”
“As I said, we have made significant progress on our reforms—progress working towards our vision of a universal early learning system for every child, for every family and for every community. I'm also asked about what could put this at risk. The risk is that the coalition threatened to leave families worse off and take us back to the days of higher out-of-pocket expenses—back to the days of low wages and an unsustainable workforce in early childhood education. The coalition does not have a policy, a plan or a vision for families or early childhood education. But, they do have one for CEOs. We'll invest $1 billion in building early learning; they'll spend billions on free lunches for bosses.”
“Advertisements for vacancy rates are now down by 22 per cent. Early childhood workers are now earning more and, with our tax cuts, keeping more of what they earn. Since we came into office, there are now over 97,000 more children in early childhood education, 41,900 more educators in the sector and an increase in supply of more than 1,000 services. Our fee-free TAFE is helping to train more educators, and our workforce package has supported them to access professional development and complete their practicums. We're investing $1 billion to help build the early learning services in the regions and in the suburbs, where children are currently missing out. Our three-day guarantee, which I introduced into parliament yesterday, ensures that every child has access to 72 hours a fortnight of early learning, regardless of their parent's activity.”
“I thank the wonderful member for Boothby for her question but also because she understands that investment in early childhood education is an investment in our future. When we came into government it was clear that this was a sector that was in dire need of reform after a decade of neglect. Our reform agenda has three key pillars: tackling affordability, supply and accessibility, and workforce. We've made significant progress across those three pillars. Over one million Australian families have saved thousands in out-of-pocket costs for early childhood education. We continue to build on that by capping fee increases as part of our wage increase for early childhood workers. Around 200,000 early childhood workers are eligible for a 15 per cent wage increase, and that's had a significant impact on workforce retention.”
“The three-day guarantee will mean real cost-of-living relief for over 66,000 families, saving them an average of around $1,370 per year. About half of those families earn less than $100,000. Lower-income families get to save even more, an average of around $1,460 a year. It also means that over 100,000 families can get more subsidised hours of early childhood education and care if they want or need it. This bill will help parents get back into the workforce and give meaningful support to families struggling with the cost of living. But I am asked about risks, and the risks are right there on the coalition benches. The Leader of the Opposition has confirmed he's going to make huge cuts, but Australians won't know what those cuts are until after the election. We're taking action to deliver cost-of-living relief for families.”
“A family earning $120,000 a year, accessing 30 hours of early learning a week, has saved around $2,768 since September 2023. But we know that there is more to do, and today I introduced the Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025. This bill will guarantee families at least 72 hours of subsidised early learning a fortnight, and for First Nations families this increases to 100 hours of subsidised early learning a fortnight. Our guarantee replaces the Liberals' activity test, which locked out families and did nothing to increase workforce participation. That's because only an Albanese Labor government understand that quality early learning provides the opportunity to improve a child's lifelong trajectory, and we believe that there should be no barriers to opportunity.”
“I thank the wonderful member for Robertson for their question. The member for Robertson understands, as do we on this side of the House, that, when we talk about early childhood education and care, we're talking about an essential service. It's a service that families rely on to study, to work, and to pay the household bills. That's why the Albanese Labor government is undertaking reform of the sector, based on three key pillars: affordable early learning, a strong early childhood education and care workforce and a system that's accessible. So far, our reforms have delivered real cost-of-living relief for Australian families. In fact, more than one million families have benefitted from our cheaper childcare reforms, a commitment that we made before we came into government.”
“The amendments in schedule 1 of the bill will replace the current childcare subsidy activity test and provide a guaranteed minimum of 72 hours per fortnight of subsidised early childhood education, regardless of the time spent in recognised participation types, and a guaranteed 100-hour entitlement per fortnight for parents caring for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child. The bill includes other technical changes to reflect the language of the three-day guarantee and provides application, saving and transitional provisions to ensure that the amendments apply to sessions of care provided to a child in a childcare subsidy fortnight that starts on or after the commencement of the bill, to ensure that amendments don't take effect midway through a childcare subsidy fortnight. I commend this bill to the chamber. Debate adjourned.”
“Simple, affordable, and accessible, for every family. Where every child is guaranteed access to at least three days of high-quality early childhood education and care. The bill I am tabling today plays a significant part in realising this future. This bill makes amendments to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999,and the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999, which are the two key acts that determine families' fortnightly entitlements to childcare subsidy.”
“We know that the market has failed to provide access to early childhood education and care for children in the regions, for children in the suburbs and for children in vulnerable communities. That is why we have also announced the Building Early Education Fund—building the centres and services to put us on a path to make sure that every single Australian child can access early childhood education and care in in the outer suburbs and regional Australia where families struggle to find a place. We're also developing an early education service delivery price to better understand the cost of delivering services around the country and underpin future reform. Because our Labor Government believes every child should have the right to quality, affordable early education. That's why we want to build a universal early education system.”
“Currently, only 34 per cent of First Nations children are developmentally on track when they start school. Our changes will make high quality and culturally responsive early childhood education and care more accessible for First Nations children. This will have life changing effects on First nations children and their families, SNAICC CEO Catherine Liddle has said: This can be a game-changer for our babies. It will mean more children are developmentally ready for school, setting them up for a thriving future. It is a significant commitment towards closing the gap. At the same time, the three-day guarantee retains a participation requirement for families to access 100 subsidised hours. We're taking responsible steps to manage demand for places and ensuring people who need a place because they're working or studying can find one.”
“Families will save an average of $1,370 per year and about half of these families earn less than $100,000 per year. Lower-income families will save more, an average of $1,460 per year. This bill also means that over 100,000 families can get more subsidised hours of early childhood education and care. This is helping parents get back into the workforce and giving meaningful support to families struggling with the cost of living. This bill also provides more support for families with First Nations children. We have already introduced changes that provide these families at least 36 hours of subsidised care per fortnight. This bill will raise that to 100 hours. These changes are based on robust consultation with First Nations communities and organisations, and it's based on the evidence.”
“This compared with 76 per cent of children in the highest socioeconomic areas. These same children are more likely to be developmentally vulnerable. The most recent Australian Early Development Census report found only 42.7 per cent of children experiencing the highest level of socioeconomic disadvantage were developmentally on track upon starting school, compared with 54.8 per cent of all children. That's why the three-day guarantee is so important. High-quality education and care provides the opportunity to improve a child's lifelong trajectory. It should be an accessible, affordable option for every family, especially disadvantaged families. There should be no barriers. This legislation will mean real cost-of-living relief for 66,700 families, in the first year alone.”
“And the Productivity Commission found that the effects of the activity test on workforce participation were ambiguous. Instead, the activity test has made early learning harder to access for many families, including disproportionately affecting those families that may be experiencing disadvantage. Families and advocates echoed these sentiments. Georgie Dent, CEO of the Parenthood, described the current activity test as 'a barrier that disproportionately locks out children who stand to benefit the most from participating in quality early childhood education and care'. The children who benefit the most from high-quality early education and care but right now, they're the least likely to attend. In 2021, only 54 per cent of children in the most disadvantaged areas were enrolled in early childhood education and care.”
“Replacing the Liberals' activity test, which locked out children and families, with Labor's three-day guarantee is such a crucial step in delivering on our commitment to universal early learning. When the Liberals introduced the childcare subsidy activity test in 2018 they stated it was designed to encourage workforce participation. But as Thrive by Five's Jay Weatherill states: 'The activity test was intended to encourage parents into work but in fact it has done the opposite. It has limited choices and made it harder for parents—especially single parents—to make an income.' An evaluation by the Australian Institute of Family Studies found no evidence that the introduction of the activity test caused any increase in workforce participation.”
“The government is again acting in introducing the Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill, guaranteeing families at least 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight. The three-day guarantee is about making sure that every child can have the best start in life—that all children are ready to learn, and ready to start school. It is about making sure that every child no matter their background and no matter where they live, has access to the transformative benefits of early childhood education and care. We know how precious the first five years of a child's life are; it is a time of extraordinary growth, of emotional and intellectual development. In these years, children learn foundational skills, learn to socialise, and develop emotional skills that they then build on when they start school.”
“The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry recommended that government consider 'removing, relaxing or substantially reconfiguring the current activity test'. In their final report, the Productivity Commission recommended that all families who choose to use early childhood education and care should be able to access at least 30 hours or three days a week of high-quality early learning. The Productivity Commission noted that ensuring 'that all children aged zero to five years have access to some form of high-quality subsidised ECEC for at least three days a week (30 hours) for 48 weeks per year would accommodate the needs of families and the benefits for children from ECEC participation'.”
“Recent Jobs and Skills Australia data indicates that workforce vacancy rates in the early childhood education and care sector having plummeted over the last 12 months, with internet vacancy rates down 22 per cent since December 2023. That's not all—the wage rise is linked to caps on fees. For providers to be eligible, they must not increase their fees by 4.4 per cent in the first year and 4.2 per cent in the second year. This is putting wages up for workers and keeping costs down for families. Over the last 2½ years, we have made significant progress in building these foundations for a universal early childhood education and care system. But we know there is still more work to do.”
“Last year we passed our Wage Justice for Early Childhood Educators Act, supporting a 15 per cent pay rise for early childhood education and care workers increasing the wages of up to 200,000 early educators. 'Significant, momentous, historic, a monumental moment', 'proof that early learning matters' and 'life changing'—these are just some of the descriptive words that early childhood education advocates and workers have used to describe this government's 15 per cent wage increase. We know that the foundation of a universal systems relies on a stable, secure and valued workforce. This wage rise will help achieve that, by retaining our existing early childhood educators and attracting new workers to the sector.”
“We also commissioned the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Productivity Commission to each do a review, providing guidance on how we can achieve our vision of a universal early learning system, a system where every child, no matter who they are, no matter their background and no matter where they live, has access to quality early childhood education and care. The Productivity Commission inquiry in its interim report told us that the early childhood education workforce should be the first priority for reform, including through better pay and conditions. The Productivity Commission made it crystal clear that the workforce is fundamental in addressing any changes in availability. We acted.”
“I move: That the bill be now read a second time. It is my privilege to introduce the Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025. On coming to government, we started a journey towards a universal early learning system that was simple, affordable and accessible for every family. This three-day guarantee is a critical step on that journey. We came into government in 2022 with a commitment to make early childhood education and care more affordable through our cheaper childcare programs. We quickly turned that commitment into progress with more than a million families benefiting from these changes. Recent data shows that an Australian family on an income of $120,000 a year paying the average quarterly fee for 30 hours child care per week has saved approximately $2,768 since September 2023.”
“I move: That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent standing order 133 from recommencing in operation. Earlier this day, the Leader of the House suspended the standing order relating to deferred divisions to allow us to consider the member for Wentworth's motion about antisemitism. This motion I am now moving will reinstate that standing order so that the usual rule of having no divisions after 6.30 pm will apply this evening. Question agreed to, with an absolute majority.”
“We don't know what the risk is going to be, but we do know this: we know that while this Albanese Labor government wants to see children accessing the transformational benefits of early learning and wants to see families accessing the essential services they need so that they can work or study, the Leader of the Opposition wants to see bosses getting free lunches on the taxpayer dollar.”
“New data just in shows that workforce vacancy rates in the early childhood sector have plummeted over the last 12 months, by 22 per cent since December 2023. I'm asked about risks. The fact is that the Leader of the Opposition has confirmed that they will make huge cuts but that Australians will be left in the dark as to what those cuts are until after the election. But there might be some clues into what they might be cutting in the fact that they opposed every single cost-of-living measure that we put forward.”
“That's real cost-of-living relief. But, of course, we know that there's more to do. That's why we're continuing to put downward pressure on fees through our fee caps—4.4 per cent in the first year and 4.2 per cent in the second year—as part of our worker retention payment. Our government has delivered a 15 per cent pay rise for up to 200,000 early childhood education workers right across Australia because we know that a strong and sustainable workforce is absolutely fundamental to a universal early learning system. That's why we've invested in it. I'm pleased to say that, in the short time since we've introduced that wage increase, more than 50 per cent of services have now applied for that wage increase. That's made a significant difference to the lives of so many early childhood workers, but also to the sector more broadly.”
“I thank the member for Spence for his question, because the member for Spence understands that investing in early childhood education helps workers, and it helps families. We're building the foundations for a future where every single Australian child and every single Australian family can have access to good quality early education. We came into government in 2022 with a commitment to make early childhood education and care more affordable through our cheaper childcare reforms. We quickly turned that commitment into progress, with more than a million families benefiting from those reforms. For an Australian family earning $120,000 a year, accessing 30 hours of early learning a week, they've saved around $2,766 since September 2023. Out-of-pocket expenses are still lower today than what they were before our cheaper childcare reforms.”