The Hills Shire and Hornsby Shire: Childcare centre waiting times

Research has revealed the ‘childcare deserts’ of Australia, but centres in The Hills and Hornsby are reporting a different on the ground reality. Find out why.

Research has revealed areas around Dural and Wisemans Ferry, Rouse Hill and McGraths Hill, as well as Hornsby, are part of Australia’s childcare ‘deserts’, but childcare centres in these areas are reporting an altogether different reality.

With the population in these areas expected to soar across coming decades and with more parents returning to work post Covid, there are worries childcare centres — already stretched thin in many areas — will struggle to meet the increased demand.

Data from The Mitchell Institute has revealed some three million people in NSW are living in ‘childcare deserts’, described as places where there are more than three kids for every childcare place available.

The geographical divide is stark, with suburbs in the inner city having a range of childcare options, while parents in the southwest and western suburbs, along with regional NSW, have to compete for very few places.

Parents returning to work post Covid will see a rise in demand for childcare placements.

The report’s lead author Dr Peter Hurley said the privatised childcare sector wasn’t opening centres where the demand was highest, but where the owners could charge the highest fees.

“Our research shows that the most expensive childcare in Australian cities are also in suburbs with more childcare places, suggesting there is an incentive for providers to open in wealthier areas where families can afford to pay higher fees,” he said.

And yet, despite data revealing Dural and Wisemans Ferry are among the hardest hit — with 2.8 children seeking a spot for every one available childcare placement — the Dooral Early Learning Centre, located in Middle Dural, says there are spots currently available.

This is also the case for Little Angels in Dural — a childcare centre located approximately one hour from Sydney.

Little Angels in Dural does not currently have a waiting list. Picture: Little Angels: Early Learning Centre & Childcare.

Dipti Shinde, an early childhood educator at Little Angels, puts the lack of waiting times at her centre down to Covid.

“We opened Little Angels in Dural because we saw there was a need for more childcare centres here,” Ms Shinde said.

“But we only opened up two years ago (and) because of Covid it has taken us some time to start accepting more children,” she added.

In this area, the childcare desert is concentrated in the more rural areas around Wisemans Ferry. In Wisemans Ferry there is only one childcare centre which is open from Wednesday to Friday.

Childcare centres around McGraths Hill, an area with a ratio of 2.03 children per placement, and Hornsby, which has a ratio of 2.29 children per placement, are also reporting widespread availability.

McGraths Hill Children Centre Inc said there was no waiting list at their childcare centre because it is a community-based non profit service.

A spokeswoman from Children Centre Inc also said she was not aware of there being waiting lists for other childcare centres in this area.

In a statement, Hornsby’s Tiny Tots Long Day Care Centre, said the data discrepancies may come from a lack of clarity surrounding ‘waiting lists’.

“Parents can enrol their children here straight away … (we have) vacancies at any time,” a Tiny Tots spokesman said.

“But parents will often request to be placed on a three or six month waiting list.”

However, The Mitchell Institute’s data portrays 56.3 per cent of Dural/Wisemans Ferry as a childcare desert, 21.4 per cent of Hornsby, and 20.8 per cent of Rouse Hill/McGraths Hill.