Today I visited C&K Mackay Children and Family Centre at Andergrove to announce the allocation of an additional $350,000 to Mackay services and more than $1 million across the electorate to support vital child care services in the region and help meet the needs of local families.

Five services in Mackay and a total of nine across the Dawson electorate will receive funding through the Liberal National Government’s Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) which helps improve access to child care and increase workforce participation in regional, remote and disadvantaged communities.

This funding will help local child care services like the C&K Mackay Children and Family Centre improve access to quality early childhood education and care.

C&K Mackay Children and Family Centre will receive $232,940 to break down cultural barriers and engage with families from culturally diverse backgrounds, in particular Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Australian South Sea Islander families to access early learning and child care.

MCFC director Michelle Donaldson said the funding would enable them to employ an Indigenous liaison officer and provide welcome packs for all new families.

“We are so grateful for this funding as it allows us to build stronger, meaningful connections with our community and strengthen our support for families,” Ms Donaldson said.

“Our centre already provides bus transport, all meals and nappies, but this financial support means we can also provide all newly-enrolled children with a welcome pack of essentials – e.g. a backpack, drink bottle etc – effectively removing the additional costs for families. This will help us to support more children and families and provide them with a strong foundation for their transition to school.”

Successful recipients in the Dawson electorate are:

Mackay region

• Mackay Children and Family Centre $232,940

• St Francis Xavier Early Years OSHC* $45,000

• St Francis Xavier OSHC $20,070

• St Joseph’s OSHC $20,070

• Emmanuel OSHC $31,380

(*Outside School Hours Care)

Whitsunday/Bowen region

• Whitsunday Shire Family Day Care (Proserpine) $125,000

• Bowen Collinsville Family Day Care $100,000

Burdekin/Townsville region

• Giru Daycare Association Inc $227,727

• Guppy’s Early Learning, Wulguru $200,000

Minister for Education and Youth Alan Tudge said more than 640 child care services around Australia would share in more than $100 million through the program.

“In some outer regional and remote areas, there may only be one or two child care services operating and it is critical we keep these open and help improve and expand facilities so more kids can attend.

“This program also helps services to run initiatives that reduce barriers which may otherwise prevent local kids from accessing care.”

Minister for Regional Education Bridget McKenzie said the CCCF would help ensure child care continued to be available for many families in Dawson.

“These grants will have tangible benefits for childcare providers that will flow to local children and their families,” Minister McKenzie said.

The Government has allocated more than $220 million to over 1,000 child care services through the Community Child Care Fund since 2018. It adds to the Morrison Government’s investment of around $10 billion in child care this year to support around 1 million families.

More information on the Community Child Care Fund can be found on the Department of Education, Skills and Employment website.