Cost of child care in Australia on the rise: report

Rising cost for child care has become a heavier burden for parents in Australia, said a report released on Tuesday.

The Productivity Commission's 2014 report on government services shows that the rise of child care cost has been at almost double the rate of inflation over the past year, with parents now paying for about 364 AU dollars (317 U.S. dollars) a week.

The report says that more than a million children aged under 12 were in child care in the March quarter for 2013, up 6.3 percent from the previous year.

The median cost of centre-based long day care jumped by five percent to 364 AU dollars for 50 hours of care per week across the country.

The biggest increases were in Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT), with day care in the ACT the most expensive in the country.

For family day care, the cost of a 50-hour week jumped three percent to 339 AU dollars (296 U.S. dollars).

The biggest hikes were recorded in the ACT and the NT, with the ACT again the most expensive.

Major cities and inner regional areas are more expensive than other regions.

Australian parents are entitled to receive child care rebate, which covers half of their out of pocket child care expenses, up to a maximum of 7,500 AU dollars (6,544 U.S. dollars) per child per year.

Parents also want more flexible child care options to allow professional mums and dads to stay in the workforce for longer.