Watch live: FamilyBoost changes announced, Nicola Willis says thousands will benefit
Nicola Willis is set to make an announcement on the government's FamilyBoost scheme on Monday morning.
We'll be livestreaming the announcement at the top of this page from about 9am.
Ahead of the announcement, Willis told
Morning Report
the changes include increasing the rebate families will get from the scheme and increasing the range of families who can access it, including higher income families who will be able to get a higher amount.
"Overall, the amount of money we put into the sceheme is not on track to all be used, so that gives us an opporuntity to look at how we can spread that cash further, ensure it's getting into people's pockets, into their bank accounts, and not staying with the government."
She urged people who were eligible for Family Boost to put claims in.
The Finance Minister promised to
review the scheme
which provides rebates for early childhood education, after government figures showed just 249 families had consistently claimed the full amount - well short of the 21,000 families initially estimated.
At present, to qualify for the full amount, families must be paying more than $300 a week in childcare costs, but also earning under $140,000 a year.
Families earning up to $180,000 a year can get smaller amounts, while those earning above that cannot claim the rebate.
The government had always expected only some families would get the full amount, Willis said.
As a result of the changes, many families already accessing the scheme will see larger increases in the future, she said.
She urged people who paid for early childhood education to check if they were eligible for FamilyBoost and to put claims in.
Willis said early childhood services have done great work to create quarterly statements and make it easier for families.
"The key barrier seems to be people's awareness of the scheme, because you do need to claim for it."
The changes will apply to fees charged from 1 July. Claims will be able to be made in October.
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