Govt crackdown on home-based early childhood education

The government is cracking down on home-based early childhood education, citing doubts about quality and concern over some companies' financial arrangements. It is proposing mandatory qualifications for people who provide home-based care for under-fives, a cut to the funding rates for au pairs, and safeguards to ensure educators are fairly paid. The action comes eight years after an independent advisory group called for an urgent review of the sector, which now gets more than $100 million a year in government subsidies.