Surf Coast faces childcare challenge

MANY families across the region are waiting more than 12 months to secure childcare as the sector battles ongoing staffing shortages and growing demand with rising cost of living forcing parents to spend more time at work.

In Torquay alone, more than 85 per cent of the childcare providers contacted by this newspaper were operating at or near capacity, with only limited vacancies on offer to local families.

Demand varied across centres but was consistently high for children under the age of 3.

For centres with waitlists, most had more than 100 families waiting for placement within the centre.

One centre’s waitlist spanned more than 400 families.

While illustrative of the challenges facing the sector, it should be noted that families frequently join multiple waitlists to increase their chances of placement within a centre and often forget to remove their name once a position becomes available with a childcare provider.

Goodstart Early Learning operate childcare centres across the country, including one in Torquay.

Tiffany Smith, the company’s state manager for Victoria West, said Goodstart centres were “quite full” with occupancy ranging from 78–100 per cent.

“Staffing shortages are certainly a sector-wide issue,” she said.

“National Skills Commission data suggests the early childhood education sector will need 21,900 additional educators by 2026.

“We continue to advocate to the federal government to support the sector to increase educator wages to ensure early learning centres everywhere have the educators and teachers they need to support children.”

Unable to meet legal ratio requirements, these staffing shortages have driven several childcare providers to cap enrolments.

According to the Australian Childcare Alliance, as many as 66 per cent of childcare centres across the country may have been forced to take such action.

Statistics were harder to estimate for Armstrong Creek with several childcare centres either unable or unwilling to provide data before this newspaper went to print.

Those that did provide vacancy data, were similarly operating at or near capacity with extensive waitlists.

Busy Bees also operate two childcare centres across Armstrong Creek and the Surf Coast.

“Resourcing the demand for quality childcare is an issue sector-wide especially as demand increases and more families are having to work at capacity during the current economic climate,” a spokesperson for the company said.

“While there isn’t much families seeking childcare in high-demand areas can do to fast-track the process, we do recommend they book a tour and get on the waitlist at their preferred centre as soon as possible.”

This advice was consistent across many of the childcare providers contacted, with many encouraging families to join centre waitlists before the birth of their child to increase their chances of placement.

Two new centres are due to open this year in Armstrong Creek and Charlemont, respectively.

Despite neither centre declaring an official opening date, both said they have already received a high amount of interest.