Educator shortage stifling childcare

“In the past we have needed educators but at this stage we have enough staff, though we always like to have more.

“A wages rise has helped our industry for educators to come back to the service.”

Member for Northern Victoria, Gaelle Broad, recently called out the Victorian Government for abandoning regional families, after it was revealed that only four of the 50 early childhood centres promised in 2023 have been delivered.

Ms Broad said the childcare shortage across Northern Victoria had reached crisis point, with many local towns now classified as “childcare deserts”, with little to no access to early learning and care.

“In 2023, the Victorian Government promised 50 new early childhood centres by 2028, but two years on, only four have been built,” Ms Broad said.

“Now the timeline has been quietly pushed out to beyond 2032.

“Families are being forced to wait years, travel long distances, or give up work altogether because childcare simply doesn’t exist in their communities.”

On the other side of the border in NSW, the scenario is very similar in terms of staffing shortages while the NSW Government will hold a parliamentary inquiry into the childcare industry following revelations of dangerous practices and regulatory failings.

As a whole, 28 per cent of NSW resides in a 'childcare desert' with those in regional and less affluent areas the most disadvantaged.

Goodstart Corowa director Jo Croom said it was true that many towns and services could be classed as ‘childcare deserts’.

However, she said the bigger question to ask was whether they were full to their licencing capacity or because they don’t have the educators needed to offer more bookings to families.

“For our service here in Corowa, we currently have some availabilities within our toddler and preschool rooms and quite a lengthy waitlist for our nursery space,” Ms Croom said.

“What’s more important to point out though is we are not sitting at our licencing capacity; we have our rooms reduced in numbers to meet child to educator ratio regulations, which is caused by staffing shortages.

“We have several permanent employment opportunities for educators, which we simply can’t fill because quality educators are not applying.

“Early childhood education is becoming an increasingly more challenging profession to work in; meeting compliance, paperwork, being short staffed and an increase of children and families needing additional support beyond our training is causing educators to turn their back on the profession and find careers that aren’t as mentally and emotionally taxing as early childhood education is.”

Almost one in four Australians live in a childcare 'desert', where more than three children vie for every childcare place available, according to the results of a world-first study by Victoria University's Mitchell Institute as part of an international study mapping childcare access across nine nations.

Australia came in fourth out of the nine nations for overall childcare accessibility, outperformed by Norway, Sweden and Scotland respectively.

Ms Broad said regional areas faced unique challenges that required tailored solutions, yet the government continued to apply metro-centric policies that don’t fit the realities of country life.

“Staffing ratios, rigid regulations, and a lack of support are making it near impossible to attract and retain childcare providers in rural towns,” she said.

“Every child deserves access to quality early learning, and every family should have the choice to live and work in regional Victoria without having to relocate just to access childcare.”