How federal government aims to address Geelong’s childcare waitlist woes

There are hopes a federal government subsidy will ease pressure on childcare centres in Geelong, as waitlists blow out by years. HAVE YOUR SAY

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles visited Goodstart Early Learning Centre in East Geelong, as the government’s childcare subsidy came into effect. Picture: Brad fleet

There are hopes a federal government subsidy will ease pressure on childcare centres in Geelong, as waitlists blow out by years.

Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles visited Goodstart Early Learning Centre in East Geelong last week, a day after the federal Labor government’s affordable childcare scheme came into operation.

Mr Marles said the scheme was “really important economic reform” that would mean families across Australia, including more than 12,000 in the Geelong region, would save money on early childhood education.

“We’re told that for families who are on about $125,000 a year, their out of pocket expenses have gone from $43 a day, down to $27 a day, which is a massive change,” he said.

“This is really the most important years of a child’s education, which is why we are so committed to investing in it.”

Mr Marles said the subsidy would also allow for the primary caregiver in families – which is mostly women – to re-enter the workforce quicker, aiding in economic growth.

It comes as a Geelong Advertiser investigation revealed the extent of the region’s childcare squeeze, with many parents waiting years for a spot for their child.

Mothers reported not being able to return to work as soon as they’d hoped, because of the waitlists.

The investigation also found a major factor contributing to the lengthy waitlists across Geelong and the Surf Coast was staff shortages.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said families were set to save about $16 a day because of the subsidy. Picture: Brad Fleet

Mr Marles said the government was aware of the waitlist issues facing Geelong families, and that the hope was for the subsidy would help in terms of placing childcare centres in a better position.

“But key to this is making childcare an attractive place for people to work,” he said.

“As we walked through the centre, we were speaking to the staff – each and every one of those people spoke about how great it was to work in this environment, and … what a great industry it is, and how uplifting it is to be able to participate in a child’s early learning in the way that these educators are.

“That’s a message that we need to get out there.

“Part of that, of course, is making sure that we get the wages for childcare workers going, and we’ve been very focused on getting wages going since the moment that we came to government.”

Originally published as How federal government aims to address Geelong’s childcare waitlist woes