Communities@Work freezes child services fees for the rest of 2020

Fees across the organisation's early education centres and out of school hours care services will be unchanged in the next four months.

There will also be no fee increase to the service levy paid by educators to Communities@Work.

Communities@Work chief executive Lee Maiden hoped the decision would help families continue to access early childhood services.

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic Ms Maiden said attendance at early education and care services dropped by 90 per cent.

"At the time, our fear was that we may need to downsize or close some of our services, which would also mean job losses. In the worst-case scenario, Communities@Work may have had to close our doors completely," Ms Maiden said.

The services avoided closure, but Ms Maiden said the struggling sector had been dealt blow after blow.

"We know that rising unemployment and a slowing economy is hitting many people hard. Many are experiencing hardship for the first time through job losses or reduced incomes," she said.

"The end of the Commonwealth government's free childcare subsidy on July 13 was another blow, and the upcoming reduction in Jobseeker will make things even harder for many already struggling. We hope our decision to freeze fees gives families a little breathing space."

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Ms Maiden said access to early childhood education was critical to give kids the best employment prospects in the future.

"Put simply, high quality early childhood education and care makes a significant and lasting impact on children throughout their lives, especially for children who are experiencing disadvantage," she said.

"Families deserve every opportunity to keep their children in early childhood education and care services."