More than 90 per cent of Families in Regional Australia say the Cost of Childcare has Skyrocketed Over The Past Three Years: New Poll
23 January – The Early Learning Regional Monitor released today shows nine out of 10 families in rural and regional Australia believe the cost of early childhood education and care (ECEC) has risen substantially in the past three years. [1]
The national poll of more than 4,500 people, conducted by Essential Research for Minderoo Foundation’s Thrive by Five initiative, found:
● 91 per cent of parents in regional Australia believe childcare costs have skyrocketed over the past three years, compared with 86 per cent of Respondents in metropolitan regions;
● 88 per cent of families in regional Australia don’t send their children to early childhood education and care or limit how long they send them, due to the cost, compared with 86 per cent of metropolitan families;
● 79 per cent of parents in regional Australia said much cheaper access to good quality childcare would help their families;
● 73 per cent of families in regional Australia support the adoption of universal childcare, up from 69 per cent in 2021 and
● 74 per cent of families in rural and regional regions think a universal early learning system would be beneficial for Australia’s education system.
Thrive by Five Director Jay Weatherill said, “This poll clearly illustrates childcare affordability and accessibility are key issues for families with young children in rural and regional Australia.
“Being born in regional Australia shouldn’t disadvantage any child. Every child, regardless of where they live or how much their parents earn, should be able to access high quality early childhood education. Yet families living outside Australia’s major cities are struggling both with exorbitant fees and inexcusably long wait lists to access childcare in the first place,” he said.
“High out-of-pocket costs make it harder for parents to return to work and prevent children from accessing the lifelong benefits that arise from participation in high quality early learning.”
The Early Learning Regional Monitor confirms data recently released by the Mitchell Institute highlighting that over a third of all Australian families live in a ‘childcare desert’ with low access to quality early childhood education.
“Approximately 63 per cent of Australians living in outer regional areas and 87 per cent of families living in outer remote areas are living in ‘childcare deserts’[2], where there is an extreme scarcity of places in early childhood education and care. That is compared to 30 per cent of families in metropolitan areas. This is untenable,” Mr Weatherill said.
The Early Learning Regional Monitor also confirms data recently released by the childcare sector regulator (the Australian Children Education and Care Quality Authority), which found less than one-quarter of early childhood education and care facilities in disadvantaged areas are exceeding the standards set in place by The National Quality Framework and also confirms research from the Front Project.
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to be developmentally vulnerable and therefore benefit the most from an easily accessible, high quality, and comprehensive early learning system [3] according to the Front Project.
“There is now ample evidence that there is a childcare affordability and accessibility crisis in rural and regional Australia. We urge the Federal and state governments to prioritise early learning reform in rural and remote areas and support the Thrive by Five fivepoint action plan,” Mr Weatherill said.
Thrive by Five’s five point action plan includes:
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A dedicated funding model for a sustainable and viable early childhood education and care system in rural and remote communities regardless of location, setting, income or hours.
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Early childhood education and care to become part of the National Cabinet reform agenda to deal with complexities of the system and build a true national universal system.
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A new national agreement to deliver universal three-year-old preschool across the country to match the partnership agreement in place for four-year-old preschool.
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The Child Care Subsidy available to all children regardless of the setting and the income or work status of their parents. Lift the Child Care Subsidy to 95 per cent for all children and set agreed fee caps.
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Start workforce planning for universal access and fund appropriate pay and flexible conditions for educators to end the problem of skill shortages, high vacancy rates and high staff turnover rates across the sector.
