By
PTE John Wellfare
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ABC
Corporate Care has been awarded the Defence child
care contract.
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Defence-specific child care centres are planned and
a number of new services will be available when the
contract begins on
July 1.
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ADF families will be able to access Defence-specific child
care when ABC Corporate Care takes over the contract in
July.
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Photo
by AB David McMahon
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child care places will be available to Defence families when ABC
Corporate Care takes up the Defence child care contract on July
1.
New Defence child care centres will be established and Defence
families will also have priority access to ABC Corporate Care’s
650 childcare centres throughout Australia. More Defence-specific
and ABC child care centres are envisaged for areas such as Newcastle,
Adelaide, Laverton, Far North Queensland, Darwin, Wagga and Wodonga,
among others.
Director General DCO Janet Stodulka said the transfer from the
existing child care provider, KU Children’s Services, to
the new provider would be as seamless as possible.
“There will be no diminution of services to our families
as a result of this new program – ABC Corporate Care is required
to meet, at a minimum, all existing regulatory, licensing and
accreditation requirements,” she said.
“ABC Corporate Care has agreed to offer continuing employment
– with at least the same remuneration and conditions as currently
received – to all of the current provider’s staff employed
at Defence child care centres.”
She said ABC Corporate Care would also offer employment opportunities
for Defence spouses currently working in the child care industry.
“This includes transferring Defence partners employed by
ABC Corporate Care between their centres when posted, where vacancies
exist.”
Existing salary sacrificing arrangements for child care at all
Defence centres will still be available after ABC Corporate Care
takes over. The company is also currently negotiating with the
Australian Tax Office to make salary sacrificing available to
Defence members with places in joint Defence-ABC child care centres
throughout Australia when they come on line.
ABC Corporate Care will provide a national free-call number through
which Defence families can access vacancies in all ABC child care
centres, book child care in advance of a posting to a new area
and get information on all child care centres in a general line
of travel between work and home.
