Naomi Riley is in her 11th year of having children under five and juggling part-time work with paid and unpaid childcare. 

“My youngest is in two days of kindergarten a week that is fully funded whereas my husband and I paid for our two girls to go to kindergarten and childcare,” said Naomi, a midwife and nurse, and mother of three children aged 10, eight and four. 

Cost-of-living for parents of children aged six and under rose by 27% between 2021-2024, climbing four times faster than the rate of inflation. A 2023 poll conducted on behalf of The Parenthood found 85% of families needed two incomes to manage the cost-of-living. 

The Albanese Government’s three days of subsidised childcare fee relief for about 66,700 families and extra hours for more than 100,000 families will take effect from January 2026. 

“There is a huge proportion of the female-dominated nursing and midwifery workforce who are of childbearing age who this will support with more dollars in their pocket,” said Naomi. 

During this election, early education advocates have been campaigning for all parties to commit to delivering universally accessible, high quality early childcare education and care.

View The Parenthood election scorecard here 

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