Queensland’s most in-demand suburbs for childcare

Demand for daycare has surged as childcare staff vacancies hit a record high. See a full list of which Queensland suburbs are most impacted.

Exclusive: Childcare queues are growing longer as working parents flock back to the office – but many centres are now struggling to find staff.

Demand for daycare has surged since Covid-19 lockdowns were lifted last month, exclusive data reveals.

Australian Childcare Alliance vice-president Nesha Hutchinson warned that Covid-19 vaccination mandates would worsen staff shortages.

She estimated that 5 per cent to 10 per cent of staff are refusing to be vaccinated in NSW, where the mandate comes into force on Monday, and will be unable to work in daycare centres.

Queensland has not yet made vaccines compulsory for teachers and childcare staff, but is giving them priority access to Covid-19 jabs.

Australian Childcare Alliance NSW president Nesha Hutchinson. Picture: Supplied

Ms Hutchinson said many older workers, at the highest risk of Covid-19 illness, had quit the childcare sector during the pandemic.

“The workforce is at capacity and there are centres that have a cap on the number of children they are able to provide care for because they don’t have enough educators on the ground,’’ she said.

“Getting staff on the ground is at a premium across the country, so supply (of places) is lower than demand as people are going back to work.’’

Exclusive data from childcare comparison site Care for Kids reveals that searches for childcare last month were 27 per cent higher than in the three months of July, August and September together.

As working parents head back inner-city offices, searches for childcare surged 43 per cent in Brisbane’s high-priced CBD, which has only six centres and fees averaging $136 a day.

The Learning Sanctuary in Mary Street, which boasts “skygarden playgrounds’’, is popular with CBD office workers who want childcare close to the office.

Centre manager Mandy Stubicar said she was thrilled to welcome children back after a “challenging time for many families’’.

“With more and more workers returning to the office, the city is again buzzing and parents are again looking for quality and conveniently located early childhood learning and care,’’ she said.

“Juggling work and family is tough for many families and we do everything we can to partner with parents to ease their anxiety and pressure.’’

Suburbs on the fringe of Brisbane – North Lakes, Sunnybank and Eight Mile Plains – were among the top 10 areas in Queensland, as more suburban families seek childcare.

The Parenthood executive director Georgie Dent said childcare staff vacancies were at “record highs’’.

“Services are really struggling to find educators and that is inevitably going to put pressure on a system,’’ she said.

“Early education and care is an essential service for parents to go to work.

The Parenthood executive director Georgie Dent.

“But there are lots of families around Australia struggling to find the care they need that matches their work schedule.

“It is difficult to get appropriate care on the appropriate days.’’

Care for Kids chief marketing officer Lauren Simpson said many parents who had worked from home during the pandemic were now searching for childcare.

“A lot of parents couldn’t access childcare due to lockdowns, or chose to keep their kids at home,’’ she said.

“Many parents were juggling family and work from home, but now they’ve started to go back to the office.

“Childcare is back on the agenda.’’

Ms Simpson said most parents sought childcare close to home or the office, to avoid an extra commute to collect children after work.

“Now that people are working more and more from home, it will be interesting to see if that changes,’’ she said.