Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families are being let down by a childcare funding model that does not take into account the breadth and complexity of their needs.
A new report from the nation's peak organisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, SNAICC, out Tuesday recommends an overhaul of funding to better deliver services and meet family and community needs.
The report was commissioned by the Early Childhood Care and Development Policy Partnership, a shared decision-making forum between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and governments under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
The report comes ahead of the conclusion of a major Productivity Commission inquiry into early childhood education, which advocates hope will prompt "long-overdue reform of a broken system".
SNAICC chief executive Catherine Liddle said early childhood services run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities provided so much more than childcare.
"Our community-controlled services aren't just babysitting children – they provide cultural connections which strengthen self-esteem and identity. They help parents and family members navigate systems like Centrelink, and act as an entry-point for other services – like family violence support – that aren't always safe for our people to approach alone," she said.
"They are filling the gaps left by mainstream government services and organisations that don't have the same levels of cultural competency and trust as our Aboriginal community-controlled services.
"But as far as the government's concerned, as far the funding is concerned, they're just providing childcare. That couldn't be further from the truth."
SNAICC's report, based on community consultation and economic modelling by Deloitte Access Economics, recommends moving from a funding model based primarily on the Child Care Subsidy, to a dedicated and more sustainable funding model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander controlled services.
"Under the Child Care Subsidy, funding is attached to the child, and this has created an inequitable system, especially for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families," Ms Liddle said.
"For one thing, many families are eligible for less subsidised hours of care because of the "activity test".
"With all the evidence we now have about how important early years education is for development, the idea that children should be denied education because of their parents' circumstances is abhorrent. It perpetuates inequality and injustice."
Ms Liddle said the Child Care Subsidy also made early childhood services in remote areas difficult to operate.
"If the service isn't funded directly, and the funding is only coming with the child, there's very little financial incentive for services to keep doors open in thinly-populated areas. This has created childcare deserts that disadvantage both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous families," she said.
"Not-for-profit early childhood services are essentially being forced to operate like a business, and what we hear from them again and again is that this completely contradicts their values and pushes out the most vulnerable families."
On Tuesday, SNAICC called for a new model that provides sustainable funding to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled services, as well as additional funding based on individual community needs.
"The funding has to provide for the wrap around supports that families need to ensure our children thrive in their early years," Ms Liddle said.
"We cannot tinker around the edges of such a dysfunctional system and expect that to close the gap in life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities.
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led services have the skills, knowledge and trust to close this gap, but the Government must stop short-changing them."
