18th Mar 2021, 11:43 AM – Representatives Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Early Childhood Education and Care Coronavirus Response and Other Measures) Bill 2021 - Consideration in Detail – Waive fees during lock...
Summary
EditThe majority voted in favour of disagreeing to the amendments, which means they failed. Kingston MP Amanda Rishworth (Labor), who introduced the amendments, explained that:
… this amendment before the House gives families relief from childcare fees during government directed lockdowns.
It is a feature of the current childcare subsidy system that, under normal circumstances, providers are legally required to enforce payment of their hourly sessional fees... But, in these unusual circumstances, what this has meant is that families are slugged with gap fees during pandemic lockdowns, unless the government chooses to grant an exemption… The government chose to use this power during the national lockdown last year and the second lockdown in Victoria but unfortunately did not choose to use this power for more recent city based lockdowns in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne. Under these public health lockdowns, most families were directed by their state governments to stay at home with their children to protect the community. The childcare centres, though, had to stay open to serve essential workers. These centres have been legally required to charge all the families gap fees during those lockdown periods. … This is a sensible amendment. It removes the inequitable minister's discretion, as they've been using it, and it puts it in the bill so that the exemption is automatically triggered when a stay-at-home order is issued. In other words, it gives services an automatic exemption from charging gap fees as soon as a lockdown is proclaimed.
Amendment text
(1) Clause 2, page 2 (table item 8, column 1), omit "Part 8", substitute "Parts 8 and 9".
(2) Schedule 1, page 17 (after line 8), at the end of the Schedule, add:
Part 9—Exception to duty to enforce payment of hourly session fees because of stay at home directions etc.
A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999
54 After subsection 201B(1)
Insert:
Exception because of stay at home directions etc.
(1AA) The provider is not required to take reasonable steps in relation to a session of care provided by the service to the child if the child is not able to attend the session of care because of a law of a State or Territory (e.g. a public health direction) that:
(a) is enacted or made in response to the coronavirus known as COVID-19; and
(b) restricts the ability of persons to:
(i) leave their homes; or
(ii) travel a certain distance from their homes.
Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters mentioned in this subsection: see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code and section 96 of the Regulatory Powers Act.
55 After paragraph 201C(1)(a) Insert:
(aa) if the provider is not taking reasonable steps in relation to the session of care because of subsection 201B(1AA)—the provider charged immediately before the coming into force of the relevant restriction mentioned in that subsection; or
56 After paragraph 201C(1A)(a)
Insert:
(aa) if the provider is not taking reasonable steps in relation to the session of care because of subsection 201B(1AA)—the provider charged immediately before the coming into force of the relevant restriction mentioned in that subsection; or
57 After section 201C(1A)
Insert:
(1AA) If the approved provider of a child care service is not taking reasonable steps in relation to a session of care provided by the service to a child because of subsection 201B(1AA), the provider must not charge an individual who is eligible for CCS for the session of care an hourly session fee that exceeds the hourly session fee that the provider charged immediately before the coming into force of the relevant restriction mentioned in that subsection.
58 Subsections 201C(2) and (3) After "(1A)", insert ", (1AA)".
Votes Passed by a small majority
Nobody rebelled against their party.
Party | Votes | |
---|---|---|
Adam Bandt Melbourne Australian Greens | No | |
Australian Labor Party (79% turnout) | 0 Yes – 54 No | |
Anthony Albanese Grayndler | No | |
Anne Aly Cowan | No | |
Sharon Bird Cunningham | No | |
Chris Bowen McMahon | No | |
Tony Burke Watson | No | |
Linda Burney Barton | No | |
Josh Burns Macnamara | No | |
Mark Butler Hindmarsh | No | |
Terri Butler Griffith | No | |
Anthony Byrne Holt | No | |
Jim Chalmers Rankin | No | |
Nick Champion Spence | No | |
Jason Clare Blaxland | No | |
Libby Coker Corangamite | No | |
Julie Collins Franklin | No | |
Milton Dick Oxley | No | |
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs | No | |
Justine Elliot Richmond | No | |
Joel Fitzgibbon Hunter | No | |
Mike Freelander Macarthur | No | |
Steve Georganas Adelaide | No | |
Andrew Giles Scullin | No | |
Patrick Gorman Perth | No | |
Chris Hayes Fowler | No | |
Julian Hill Bruce | No | |
Ed Husic Chifley | No | |
Stephen Jones Whitlam | No | |
Ged Kearney Cooper | No | |
Matt Keogh Burt | No | |
Catherine King Ballarat | No | |
Madeleine King Brand | No | |
Andrew Leigh Fenner | No | |
Kristy McBain Eden-Monaro | No | |
Emma McBride Dobell | No | |
Brian Mitchell Lyons | No | |
Rob Mitchell McEwen | No | |
Daniel Mulino Fraser | No | |
Peta Murphy Dunkley | No | |
Shayne Neumann Blair | No | |
Brendan O'Connor Gorton | No | |
Alicia Payne Canberra | No | |
Fiona Phillips Gilmore | No | |
Tanya Plibersek Sydney | No | |
Amanda Rishworth Kingston | No | |
Joanne Ryan Lalor | No | |
Bill Shorten Maribyrnong | No | |
Anne Stanley Werriwa | No | |
Susan Templeman Macquarie | No | |
Matt Thistlethwaite Kingsford Smith | No | |
Kate Thwaites Jagajaga | No | |
Tim Watts Gellibrand | No | |
Anika Wells Lilley | No | |
Josh Wilson Fremantle | No | |
Tony Zappia Makin | No | |
Lisa Chesters Bendigo | Absent | |
Sharon Claydon Newcastle | Absent | |
Pat Conroy Shortland | Absent | |
Luke Gosling Solomon | Absent | |
Peter Khalil Wills | Absent | |
Richard Marles Corio | Absent | |
Clare O'Neil Hotham | Absent | |
Julie Owens Parramatta | Absent | |
Graham Perrett Moreton | Absent | |
Michelle Rowland Greenway | Absent | |
David Smith Bean | Absent | |
Warren Snowdon Lingiari | Absent | |
Meryl Swanson Paterson | Absent | |
Maria Vamvakinou Calwell | Absent | |
Rebekha Sharkie Mayo Centre Alliance | No | |
Mark Coulton Parkes Deputy Speaker | Yes | |
Craig Kelly Hughes Independent | Yes | |
Helen Haines Indi Independent | No | |
Zali Steggall Warringah Independent | No | |
Andrew Wilkie Clark Independent | No | |
Bob Katter Kennedy Katter's Australian Party | Yes | |
Liberal National Party (100% turnout) | 5 Yes – 0 No | |
Angie Bell Moncrieff | Yes | |
Garth Hamilton Groom | Yes | |
Julian Simmonds Ryan | Yes | |
Phillip Thompson Herbert | Yes | |
Terry Young Longman | Yes | |
Liberal Party (80% turnout) | 43 Yes – 0 No | |
John Alexander Bennelong | Yes | |
Katie Allen Higgins | Yes | |
Karen Andrews McPherson | Yes | |
Kevin Andrews Menzies | Yes | |
Bridget Archer Bass | Yes | |
Russell Broadbent Monash | Yes | |
Vince Connelly Stirling | Yes | |
Peter Dutton Dickson | Yes | |
Warren Entsch Leichhardt | Yes | |
Jason Falinski Mackellar | Yes | |
Paul Fletcher Bradfield | Yes | |
Nicolle Flint Boothby | Yes | |
Josh Frydenberg Kooyong | Yes | |
Ian Goodenough Moore | Yes | |
Celia Hammond Curtin | Yes | |
Alex Hawke Mitchell | Yes | |
Greg Hunt Flinders | Yes | |
Steve Irons Swan | Yes | |
Andrew Laming Bowman | Yes | |
Julian Leeser Berowra | Yes | |
Sussan Ley Farrer | Yes | |
Gladys Liu Chisholm | Yes | |
Fiona Martin Reid | Yes | |
Melissa McIntosh Lindsay | Yes | |
Scott Morrison Cook | Yes | |
Ted O'Brien Fairfax | Yes | |
Tony Pasin Barker | Yes | |
Gavin Pearce Braddon | Yes | |
Melissa Price Durack | Yes | |
Rowan Ramsey Grey | Yes | |
Stuart Robert Fadden | Yes | |
Dave Sharma Wentworth | Yes | |
James Stevens Sturt | Yes | |
Michael Sukkar Deakin | Yes | |
Angus Taylor Hume | Yes | |
Alan Tudge Aston | Yes | |
Bert Van Manen Forde | Yes | |
Ross Vasta Bonner | Yes | |
Andrew Wallace Fisher | Yes | |
Rick Wilson O'Connor | Yes | |
Tim Wilson Goldstein | Yes | |
Ken Wyatt Hasluck | Yes | |
Trent Zimmerman North Sydney | Yes | |
Scott Buchholz Wright | Absent | |
David Coleman Banks | Absent | |
Trevor Evans Brisbane | Absent | |
Andrew Hastie Canning | Absent | |
Luke Howarth Petrie | Absent | |
Nola Marino Forrest | Absent | |
Ben Morton Tangney | Absent | |
Christian Porter Pearce | Absent | |
Dan Tehan Wannon | Absent | |
Lucy Wicks Robertson | Absent | |
Jason Wood La Trobe | Absent | |
National Party (80% turnout) | 12 Yes – 0 No | |
Darren Chester Gippsland | Yes | |
George Christensen Dawson | Yes | |
Pat Conaghan Cowper | Yes | |
Damian Drum Nicholls | Yes | |
Andrew Gee Calare | Yes | |
David Gillespie Lyne | Yes | |
Barnaby Joyce New England | Yes | |
David Littleproud Maranoa | Yes | |
Michael McCormack Riverina | Yes | |
Ken O'Dowd Flynn | Yes | |
Keith Pitt Hinkler | Yes | |
Anne Webster Mallee | Yes | |
Kevin Hogan Page | Absent | |
Michelle Landry Capricornia | Absent | |
Llew O'Brien Wide Bay | Absent | |
Tony Smith Casey Speaker | Absent | |
Totals (81% turnout) | 63 Yes – 59 No |
Turnout is the percentage of members eligible to vote that did vote.