‘Childcare deserts’ emerge in Sydney’s most affordable suburbs
Families moving to some of Sydney’s most affordable suburbs have been getting a rude awakening after discovering a hidden cost.
They are some of the cheapest places to buy or rent a house, but there’s a hidden cost stifling families.
Analysis by the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University of childcare centres across Australia has revealed a sad reality: areas with the most affordable housing were the worst for access to childcare.
Comparatively, accessibility was the best where prices for homes were higher and centres could hike up prices, creating a huge disadvantage for those from lower-socio-economic backgrounds.
“In our analysis, we found that for long daycare services, there was generally better accessibility in the more advantaged areas,” the report by Associate Professor Peter Hurley, Dr Melissa Tham & Dr Ha Nguyen said.
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Families moving to the outskirts to reduce housing costs were then being faced with the difficulty of getting their kids into a childcare provider in their area.
“The main source of income (for childcare centres) is the hourly fee they charge families … providers are not only responding to demand (through parents need for childcare) but also to the possibility of higher fees in certain areas.”
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The research took into account available childcare spots in each area compared with the total population of children there. It revealed 28 per cent of NSW residents lived in a “childcare desert”.
A childcare desert is where there are more than three children vying for every childcare spot, according to the Mitchell Insitute.
Mt Druitt in Western Sydney, where home seekers can purchase a house for a median of $929,000 or rent for $550 per week according to PropTrack, had some of the lowest childcare accessibility.
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Campbelltown, Liverpool and Blacktown areas were also among those with the worst childcare accessibility.
Families in these areas to often needed to spend more money on travelling for childcare, or to take one of the parents from the workforce all together to care for children.
The Centre for Western Sydney research into women in the workforce showed that there was 11 per cent less women from Western Sydney in the workforce compared to the rest of the city. That was equivalent to around 83,160, according to the Centre for Western Sydney.
Comparatively, some of the most affluent areas where property prices were at the higher side had the easiest access to childcare facilities.
This included suburbs Chippendale, Atarmon and Surry Hills where median house prices were $1.86m, $3.28m and $2.06m respectively.
Originally published as ‘Childcare deserts’ emerge in Sydney’s most affordable suburbs