Council-run early childhood education and care centres affected by Covid-19 restrictions are set to receive additional Commonwealth support.
Under a new package announced last week, childcare services in Commonwealth‐declared hotspots of Greater Sydney will be eligible for payments of 25 percent of their pre‐lockdown revenue.
ALGA President Linda Scott last week wrote to the Federal Government seeking urgent financial support for local government ECEC centres in NSW and Victoria severely impacted by stay-at-home orders and Commonwealth decisions on gap funding.
“These are essential community services, caring for and educating our children and enabling parents to keep working in other front-line areas of need,” Councillor Scott said.
“They have helped support Australia through this pandemic, and they’ll be vital for our continued economic recovery, so we’re pleased the Federal Government has seen fit not to leave them financially vulnerable.”
Childcare services in regional NSW, metropolitan Melbourne, and regional Victoria, will also be become eligible for support after seven days of lockdown, with payments backdated to 23 August.
Click here to see the list of LGAs in Sydney and Melbourne where providers will be eligible for support.