A new report shows that Canberra families continue to pay considerably more than anyone else in the country for childcare provided by the nation's least qualified staff.
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The latest Productivity Commission figures reveal Canberrans forked out an average of $525 each week for 50 hours of centre-based day care in 2016 compared to $425 nationally.
The cost worn by ACT families was well above that of second-placing New South Wales, where parents paid an average of $450 every week. Victoria was close behind NSW on $448 per week.
The Report on Government Services 2017 showed that family day care cost Canberra parents an average of $459 every week compared to the national average of $383. Northern Territory parents paid the most at an average of $481 per week.
After child subsidies, families on $35,000 with one child in care spent the largest proportion of their weekly disposable income on childcare, with 16.7 per cent of their wage going on out-of-pocket costs associated with childcare.
The figure dipped slightly to 15.5 per cent for families earning $55,000, then 14.5 per cent for families on $75,000 and 13.3 per cent for those on $95,000.
Each ACT figure was well above the national average and the highest among all states and territories.
The Productivity Commission data also showed that of the ACT's 3235 paid childcare staff, 38.2 per cent did not have a relevant formal qualification at or above Certificate III. The national average was 20.3 per cent.
More than 26 per cent of the ACT's staff without qualifications had fewer than three years' experience in the sector.
As well, the report showed the ACT had the highest proportion of children aged up to four years old admitted to hospital while in care, with 3.5 per cent of injuries occurring in a early childhood care setting such as a preschool compared to 2.9 per cent nationally.
However, the commission's report urged caution when looking at these figures due to high levels of non-reporting for an injury's place of occurrence.
The discrepancy between how much parents paid for child care in the ACT and how well qualified the sector's staff were was the subject of a review announced by former Education Minister Shane Rattenbury last February.
The outcomes of the review have not yet been made public.
Last Thursday, an Education Directorate spokesman said: "Today the Future of Education Strategy is being discussed with principals of Canberra public schools, as well as being outlined to the community sector. Soon after work will commence on developing an Early Childhood Strategy.
"The work of the 2016 review into early childhood education and care will be a key input into the consultation and deliberations with the education and care sector for the development of the Early Childhood Strategy and hence will be released in line with this timing."
