Gungahlin families are less likely to support paying more for childcare in order to boost the wages of childcare workers than families in Belconnen and the inner north.
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A survey of 250 constituents in the electorate of Fraser by local MP Andrew Leigh showed that 64 per cent of Belconnen and west Belconnen families and 59 per cent of inner north families who used formal childcare were willing to pay higher fees in order to increase the salaries of staff and reduce staff turnover.
But only 38 per cent of Gungahlin families agreed.
Dr Leigh said the results, which are part of a wider survey on satisfaction with childcare and the childcare rebate, showed that there was probably tighter household budget pressure in Gungahlin.
''Not that there isn't financial pressure right across Canberra, but the share of families where both parents are working full time is higher in Gungahlin,'' Dr Leigh said.
He said that childcare would always be a balancing act between affordability and quality but that overall satisfaction rates in his electorate were heartening.
On average, 79 per cent of respondents said they were ''happy'' or ''very happy'' with their child's care.
The experience across the electorate was relatively homogenous, at 81 per cent for the inner north, 79 per cent for Belconnen and west Belconnen, and 74 per cent in Gungahlin. Dr Leigh said that when it came to fee support through the Child Care Rebate the most surprising result coming out of his survey was the high number of people collecting the Child Care Rebate quarterly, at 35 per cent or annually, at 11 per cent.
''While different financial arrangements obviously work for different families, it may just be that some families aren't aware that you can receive the Child Care Rebate fortnightly or have it paid directly to the child care centre,'' he said.
He also asked Canberra families to check their eligibility for the rebate given 1400 are entitled to, but not claiming, the fee relief.
The federal government is considering a number of reforms to the childcare system including paying childcare centres the rebate directly in exchange for moderated fee rises - which were shown last year to rise by an average 11 per cent.
Dr Leigh said his own view was that childcare workers were underpaid for the quality of the work they provided.
''Childcare used to be considered by policy makers as babysitting - but now it is considered as education.
''And this is happening at a time when more people are using it so there is a demand for more places and for quality to go up at the same time.''
With the government rumoured to also be considering means-testing the Child Care Rebate - which pays parents back up to $7500 of their out-of-pocket costs - Dr Leigh said that he would argue against this in caucus on equity reasons.
