Getting the basics right – goals that would deliver a good national children’s services system

摘要

Over the past three decades Australia’s children’s services system has been transformed from a predominantly publicly provided andudoperated community based system to a privatised, commercialudmarket driven system. Today 70 per cent of our childcare servicesudare privately owned and more than 25 per cent of our services areudowned by one shareholder company.udThe National Association of Community Based Children’sudServices (NACBCS) is an advocacy body and has been the principaludforce behind the retention of community based children’s servicesudin Australia. NACBCS was formed in 1982 following the reportingudof a federal government review of Australia’s Children’s ServicesudProgramme. This report, which became known as the SpenderudReport after the review committee’s chair John Spender, was neverudpublished but details of its recommendations were leaked.udWhile many recommendations in the report were welcomed,udsome recommendations were strongly opposed, includingudrecommendations that commercial services be subsidised by theudfederal government. Around the nation childcare advocatesudlabelled such commercialisation of child care as inappropriate anduddestined to lead to poorer quality care as profit takers entered theudservice system and the service system became a market place.udNACBCS came into being as the organising vehicle for theseudadvocates and has remained an active advocacy body over the pastudthree decades. It aims to protect a quality children’sudservices system and has put forward policy initiatives designed toudcurb the worst that commercialisation has brought to Australia’sudchildren’s services.