National

Calls for options in budget to ease pressure on parents

May 12, 2026

Children play at a preschool in Sydney — Advocates want the childcare subsidy to be expanded to include alternatives to centre-based care. -AAP Image

Parents are calling for more childcare options as the federal government signals a universal system is unlikely to be on the cards any time soon.

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Treasurer Jim Chalmers will hand down his fifth federal budget on Tuesday night, and while tax reform is shaping up as a key talking point, people will also be looking out for the government's plans on child care.

Parent and child advocacy group For Parents wants the existing childcare subsidy to be expanded to include alternatives to centre-based care.

A petition launched by the group in 2025 has gained more than 20,000 signatures from parents who want to see the subsidy expanded to care provided by grandparents, nannies, au pairs and co-working spaces that allow parents to keep their children close while they work.

"This idea that for parents to work their child must be in an accredited childcare facility, we think a huge opportunity is being missed," For Parents co-founder Cecilia Cobb told AAP.

"We've got kids going into a childcare model that parents don't want them in, but it's the only option."

The coalition has indicated support for measures that provide flexibility to benefit families but are yet to formally adopt such a policy.

While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously stated he wants universal childcare to be his legacy, Dr Chalmers has cautioned that model is not something that can be afforded in the budget right now.

The treasurer's remarks were disappointing, Ms Cobb said.

"A 2022 election commitment that still can't be delivered on and is brushed aside as being a fringe issue is not good enough," she said.

"Child care is not a 'nice to have' luxury and most parents in the trenches with little kids would see it as a core enabler of them being able to work.

"It should therefore be viewed as a necessity in the budget."

Advocacy organisation The Parenthood has called for the budget to expand paid parental leave entitlements to 52 weeks at a replacement wage rate, as well as further support to make workplaces family friendly.

With two in five families paying full fees beyond the current subsidy cap, the group says quality, affordable and accessible early childhood education must also be a budget priority.

"Families and educators are under pressure (and) this budget needed to show how that pressure would be eased, not ignored," The Parenthood chief executive Georgie Dent said.