While a colourful television campaign promised families the Queensland government was "making kindy free" this year, the rollout of the program has resulted in widespread confusion and disappointed parents.
The media statement at the time said the $645 million investment would help "every Queensland child get a great start in life and support parents in their return to work". "Obviously, with the announcement from the government last year, that it was going to be free, that was very exciting. I was like, oh this is gonna save us a whole bunch of money," she said.
But she said it was never made clear by the centre that she would be charged $230 for two days a week, because she did not receive the child care subsidy. Education Queensland said in a statement it was adamant the program was fair once all subsidies were applied. "They're having to develop two different relationships, they've got two different peer groups," he said.
"The $17 fee increase reflects the fee increase the government required us to provide for their paperwork and will be a daily rate moving forward," she said. In its submission to the review, it said the current structure of Free Kindy funding could leave low-income families financially worse off than those on high incomes.