Summary

Edit

The majority voted against amendments introduced by Kingston MP Amanda Rishworth (Labor), which means they failed.

Ms Rishworth explained that:

... we are concerned about the removal of the 28-day grace period. We do welcome the minister's foreshadowed amendments, but on the whole we think it would be much simpler to just continue with the 28-day grace period for families to provide their tax file number and bank account details.

The government has claimed that the provision in this bill will simplify the system for families and providers, but unfortunately this is not supported with evidence. The amendments in the substantive bill require bank account details and a tax file number to be provided at the time the claim is made for the CCS [child care subsidies] and not at any other time. As previously mentioned, currently an individual has 28 days after the CCS claim is submitted to provide these details. When CCS payments are made without that information being provided within the required time frame, it can result in a debt for families.

While the government argues it's trying to avoid families acquiring this debt, Labor notes that these families are indeed eligible for the childcare subsidy and for early learning and care, but may be unable to access urgent care because they don't have immediate access to their personal information. This has been substantiated and backed up by an overwhelming concern from the sector about the negative impacts that this change will have on families in particularly difficult circumstances who do not have immediate access to their personal documents. This could be families fleeing domestic violence or natural disasters who do not have time to grab their paperwork as they leave their house, but want their children to keep a routine and keep enjoying the benefits of early education. It could be recently arrived migrant families who haven't had a chance to get a bank account or tax file number, but who want to get their kids enrolled in an early learning setting.

Amendment text

(1) Schedule 1, items 35 to 38, page 10 (line 13) to page 11 (line 4), omit the items.

(2) Schedule 1, items 41 and 42, page 11 (line 17) to page 12 (line 7), omit the items.

(3) Schedule 1, items 50 and 51, page 13 (lines 5 to 18), omit the items.

What does this bill do?

According to the bills digest, the purpose of the bill is to:

address issues that have arisen since the introduction of the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) on 2 July 2018 and to make a number of clarifying and technical amendments. The Bill proposes to:

  • remove the 50 per cent limit on the number of children a child care provider can self-certify as eligible for Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) (child wellbeing)
  • allow the Minister for Education to prescribe circumstances in which a third party may contribute to the costs of an individual’s child care fees without this contribution affecting their CCS or ACCS rate
  • allow the Minister for Education to prescribe circumstances in which the CCS and ACCS can still be paid where a child is absent at the start or end of an enrolment
  • better incorporate In Home Care into the FA Act and FA Admin Act by including payment rates for In Home Care and allowing the Minister to specify eligibility criteria and care requirements that must be met for access to subsidised In Home Care places
  • clarify that decisions made as a result of a Secretary initiated review must first be subject to an internal review before an application can be made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal
  • require Tax File Number and bank account details at the time a claim for CCS is made
  • immediately suspend or cancel access to child care subsidies where a provider has been suspended or cancelled by a state or territory child care regulator and
  • make various administrative and technical amendments to clarify the policy intent or address unintended consequences.

Votes Not passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Adam Bandt Melbourne Australian Greens Yes
Australian Labor Party (90% turnout) 61 Yes 0 No
Anthony Albanese Grayndler Yes
Anne Aly Cowan Yes
Sharon Bird Cunningham Yes
Chris Bowen McMahon Yes
Tony Burke Watson Yes
Linda Burney Barton Yes
Josh Burns Macnamara Yes
Mark Butler Hindmarsh Yes
Terri Butler Griffith Yes
Anthony Byrne Holt Yes
Jim Chalmers Rankin Yes
Jason Clare Blaxland Yes
Libby Coker Corangamite Yes
Julie Collins Franklin Yes
Pat Conroy Shortland Yes
Milton Dick Oxley Yes
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs Yes
Justine Elliot Richmond Yes
Joel Fitzgibbon Hunter Yes
Mike Freelander Macarthur Yes
Steve Georganas Adelaide Yes
Andrew Giles Scullin Yes
Patrick Gorman Perth Yes
Luke Gosling Solomon Yes
Julian Hill Bruce Yes
Ed Husic Chifley Yes
Ged Kearney Cooper Yes
Matt Keogh Burt Yes
Peter Khalil Wills Yes
Catherine King Ballarat Yes
Madeleine King Brand Yes
Andrew Leigh Fenner Yes
Richard Marles Corio Yes
Emma McBride Dobell Yes
Brian Mitchell Lyons Yes
Rob Mitchell McEwen Yes
Daniel Mulino Fraser Yes
Peta Murphy Dunkley Yes
Shayne Neumann Blair Yes
Brendan O'Connor Gorton Yes
Clare O'Neil Hotham Yes
Julie Owens Parramatta Yes
Alicia Payne Canberra Yes
Graham Perrett Moreton Yes
Fiona Phillips Gilmore Yes
Amanda Rishworth Kingston Yes
Michelle Rowland Greenway Yes
Joanne Ryan Lalor Yes
Bill Shorten Maribyrnong Yes
David Smith Bean Yes
Warren Snowdon Lingiari Yes
Anne Stanley Werriwa Yes
Meryl Swanson Paterson Yes
Susan Templeman Macquarie Yes
Matt Thistlethwaite Kingsford Smith Yes
Kate Thwaites Jagajaga Yes
Maria Vamvakinou Calwell Yes
Tim Watts Gellibrand Yes
Anika Wells Lilley Yes
Josh Wilson Fremantle Yes
Tony Zappia Makin Yes
Nick Champion Spence Absent
Lisa Chesters Bendigo Absent
Sharon Claydon Newcastle Absent
Chris Hayes Fowler Absent
Stephen Jones Whitlam Absent
Mike Kelly Eden-Monaro Absent
Tanya Plibersek Sydney Absent
Rebekha Sharkie Mayo Centre Alliance No
Mark Coulton Parkes Deputy Speaker No
Andrew Wilkie Clark Independent Yes
Helen Haines Indi Independent No
Zali Steggall Warringah Independent No
Bob Katter Kennedy Katter's Australian Party Absent
Liberal National Party (100% turnout) 0 Yes 4 No
Angie Bell Moncrieff No
Julian Simmonds Ryan No
Phillip Thompson Herbert No
Terry Young Longman No
Liberal Party (93% turnout) 0 Yes 52 No
John Alexander Bennelong No
Katie Allen Higgins No
Karen Andrews McPherson No
Kevin Andrews Menzies No
Bridget Archer Bass No
Russell Broadbent Monash No
Scott Buchholz Wright No
Vince Connelly Stirling No
Peter Dutton Dickson No
Trevor Evans Brisbane No
Jason Falinski Mackellar No
Paul Fletcher Bradfield No
Nicolle Flint Boothby No
Josh Frydenberg Kooyong No
Ian Goodenough Moore No
Celia Hammond Curtin No
Andrew Hastie Canning No
Alex Hawke Mitchell No
Luke Howarth Petrie No
Greg Hunt Flinders No
Steve Irons Swan No
Craig Kelly Hughes No
Andrew Laming Bowman No
Julian Leeser Berowra No
Sussan Ley Farrer No
Gladys Liu Chisholm No
Nola Marino Forrest No
Fiona Martin Reid No
Melissa McIntosh Lindsay No
John McVeigh Groom No
Scott Morrison Cook No
Ben Morton Tangney No
Ted O'Brien Fairfax No
Tony Pasin Barker No
Gavin Pearce Braddon No
Christian Porter Pearce No
Melissa Price Durack No
Rowan Ramsey Grey No
Stuart Robert Fadden No
Dave Sharma Wentworth No
James Stevens Sturt No
Michael Sukkar Deakin No
Angus Taylor Hume No
Dan Tehan Wannon No
Alan Tudge Aston No
Bert Van Manen Forde No
Andrew Wallace Fisher No
Lucy Wicks Robertson No
Rick Wilson O'Connor No
Jason Wood La Trobe No
Ken Wyatt Hasluck No
Trent Zimmerman North Sydney No
David Coleman Banks Absent
Warren Entsch Leichhardt Absent
Ross Vasta Bonner Absent
Tim Wilson Goldstein Absent
National Party (93% turnout) 0 Yes 14 No
Darren Chester Gippsland No
George Christensen Dawson No
Pat Conaghan Cowper No
Damian Drum Nicholls No
Andrew Gee Calare No
David Gillespie Lyne No
Kevin Hogan Page No
Barnaby Joyce New England No
Michelle Landry Capricornia No
David Littleproud Maranoa No
Michael McCormack Riverina No
Llew O'Brien Wide Bay No
Keith Pitt Hinkler No
Anne Webster Mallee No
Ken O'Dowd Flynn Absent
Tony Smith Casey Speaker Absent
Totals (91% turnout) 63 Yes – 74 No