A CEDAR Vale mother has voiced concern over recommendations to means test the child care rebate, saying it could force her to cut her work hours.
Carlie Ross was speaking to the Times about one of the changes proposed in the Productivity Commission's draft report into the childcare system, released last week.
The report recommended one single childcare payment to be means tested, where families on less than $60,000 would receive a 90 per cent rebate on childcare costs and families on more than $300,000 would receive 30 per cent.
Currently the child care benefit is means tested however the child care rebate is open to everyone and capped at $7500 a child.
Ms Ross has three children, two of which are in day care three days a week.
She recently went back to work full-time, working from home two days a week, but said if means testing meant an increase in childcare, she may have to drop back to part-time.
"I'm paying more than $12,000 a year in childcare after the rebate," Ms Ross said.
"Yes I would be better off to work less but when do I get the opportunity to get past that, to be able to get more for my family.
"It doesn't seem right that the more you try to get ahead the more you are challenged, and if the childcare payment is means tested our budget will be challenged."
However Ms Ross said there were recommendations proposed in the draft report she did support.
She said extending the childcare rebate to include nannies and grandparents who have completed a specified course could benefit many families, including her own.
"That would be fantastic, a really good idea. I could get my mum to babysit and I would also consider getting a nanny, that would really work for us around the different school and day care pick-ups and drop offs," Ms Ross said.
Among the other recommendations made in the 900-page draft report was for schools to offer an outside school hours child care service.
Nationwide more than 1.3 million children are enrolled in child care or preschool.
The Childcare and Early Childhood Learning report will be finalised and given to the federal government in October.