Regional childcare: The state of the nation

Children are being left behind academically, and parents can’t fill critical workforce shortages, due to severe lack of regional childcare.

The voices of more than 160 parents across regional Australia have been brought together in a new report analysing the state of early childhood education in the regions.

And they’re all concerned about the same things: more choices when it comes to addressing childcare undersupply, lack of skilled workers, and getting country Australia’s mothers back to work if they choose.

Early childhood education advocacy body The Parenthood released its Choiceless report on Monday, calling for increased measures to tackle childcare inaccessibility in regional Australia, and outlined a number of recommendations.

South Australia’s Elouise Fehring is one of the case studies in the report. The mother of two from the Yorke Peninsula has not been back to work since the birth of her first child.

Without family close by, and the demands and hours required of a job in education, Ms Fehring said a lack of childcare for her sons had kept her out of the workforce.

Before her eldest was offered two half-days of care, he was on a waitlist for the better part of two years.

Limited – or non-existent – childcare options in remote and regional Australia is forcing many parents to remove themselves from the workforce, to the detriment of their finances and their careers. Picture: David Crosling

“At the time, there was one childcare in town where I worked, but 45 minutes from where I live,” Ms Fehring said.

“Before I even had my child, people were asking me if I had him on the waitlist, and I was a bit naive … he was born and it was at that point a two-year wait.”

The report found market solutions “cannot and will not solve the problem of equitable access in the regions”, and has made a number of recommendations including government to take more of a market stewardship role in childcare; considering supply-side funding; abolishing the activity test; combining early education and allied health services; and workforce measures.

The Parenthood campaign director Maddy Butler said the report’s case studies showed regional and rural families were struggling with an undersupply of services, with children missing out on the social and intellectual benefits of early childhood education.

“This isn’t happening in isolation. This isn’t happening just in a few areas. It’s all across the country that regional, rural and remote communities are really suffering right now,” she said.

For parents such as Ms Fehring, the strain of limited childhood education options was taking its toll emotionally and career-wise.

“I mean, it sucks,” Ms Fehring said.

“I’m not hugely ambitious but I like the idea of moving into a leadership role, and I really like contributing to a school community. And teaching, I do love being in the classroom, so it is just really disappointing.”