Since the early 1990s there has been a fundamental transformation in the philosophy underlying the provision of children services in Australia. The ideals of the community-based, non-profit child care movement which implicitly underpinned commonwealth policy for a decade and a half no longer hold sway; they have been displaced by a more workforce-oriented, market-driven approach. The rights and needs of children do not play a major part in current policy debates: the children services program is firmly focused on the needs of adults (parents and employers) and the watchwords of the new era are ‘competition’, ‘market forces’ and ‘the level playing field’. Boosted by generous support from the commonwealth, the for-profit sector is now the major provider of centre-based long day care in Australia (as discussed more fully below, pp. 213–18). Non-profit, community-based services account for only about one-third of all centre-based places; by the turn of the century it is estimated that they will provide a mere 15 per cent (DHFS, 1996b: 5). For families with pre-school age children – especially those cared for in non-profit services – costs have risen markedly as the commonwealth has reduced its support; and changes to the administration and funding of services mean it is increasingly difficult for families to use services in a flexible manner which supports particular needs.

To some extent, these changes have been propelled by trends in public sector management rather than by party ideology.