If paying for Child Care is a cost of doing business/going about earning an income, then make it Tax Deductible.
Then parents can pay their childcare up front (no subsidies) and they can get a tax deduction on either an annual, half yearly or quarterly basis depending on how they want to lodge.
If you can’t afford childcare because you don’t earn enough, then your time is better spent looking after your child, or mot having one at all.
