NSW’s most in-demand suburbs for childcare revealed

Demand for daycare has surged as ‘no jab, no job’ rules strain childcare staff levels. See the full list of NSW suburbs who are the most impacted.

Exclusive: Childcare waiting lists are growing longer as working parents flock back to the office – but many centres are now struggling to find staff due to “no jab, no job’’ rules.

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 and will be unable to work in daycare centres.

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.

“A number of educators aren’t exempt (from the jab mandate) but have chosen not to be vaccinated,’’ Ms Hutchinson said.

“We don’t know who’s going to turn up (for work).

“That means 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.

“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.’’

Eight of Australia’s 10 most in-demand suburbs for childcare are in NSW, exclusive data from childcare comparison site Care for Kids reveals.

Parents are waiting up to three years for a daycare place in the most sought-after suburb for childcare, Schofields in Sydney’s west, which has 26 childcare centres with an average fee of $124 per day.

The number of searches in October was 54 per cent higher than in July, August and September together.

The owner of Schofields child care centre Country Life, Rochelle Jamie, said centres in her suburb are in such high demand that waiting times can reach up to three years.

She said she is “struggling to get staff’’.

“Every day we’ll get about five calls with interest for childcare, they want to enrol their child,” Ms Jamie said.

“We have a lot of new families, very young families moving into the area from different suburbs because I think Schofields is popular with all the transportation benefits … everything is very nearby.”

Parents are waiting up to three years for a daycare place. Picture: Supplied

Other suburbs in the top 10 are centred around Sydney’s booming north west including Quakers Hill, Bualkham Hills, Castle Hill and Kellyville.

The regional town of Orange in the Sydney’s west – which has 37 centres and an average daily fee of $124,77 – came in third, while Wagga Wagga in the Rivernia – with 30 centres and a daily average fee of $107.86 is the seventh most in-demand.

Ranwick in Sydney’s east – which has a median property price of $3 million and 32 centres – rounded out the top 10.

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,’’ Ms Dent said.

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

The Parenthood executive director Georgie Dent says a staff shortage is putting pressure on the childcare system.

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.