RDAMNC has submitted a formal letter to the Australian Government advocating for equitable access to funding for all Early Childhood Education Centres (ECECs), including for-profit providers. Currently, many government grant programs exclude for-profit services, despite their significant role in regional areas.
According to the Mitchell Institute, over 60% of regional communities in Australia are classified as ‘childcare deserts’—areas with more than three children per available childcare place (Pascoe & Jackson, 2022). This funding gap contributes to the Mid North Coast’s limited access to early learning.
RDAMNC supports greater inclusion to ensure childcare centres can meet community and workforce needs and hope to update our region with a positive outcome.
Update: 24/06/2025
As part of the Regional Investment Framework (RIF), “Services” is now one of main areas identified by the Government for RDAs to focus on. One service that was identified was early childhood education and care. To obtain an understanding of the situation in our region, RDAMNC conducted a survey of both childcare providers and parents in September 2023.
RDAMNC have prepared a quantitative and qualitative summary of both surveys which can be viewed here.
This is the first part of our work in this area with follow up to come in the form of:
- Consultation with peak body and government representatives.
- Engagement of Martin Musgrave (economist) to analyse the economic impacts to providers, families and businesses. Click here to view a copy of the report.
- Workshops (in February 2024) with stakeholders to look at opportunities in the region to increase supply.
- Advocacy report on the surveys, consultations, economic analysis and workshop outcomes.
- Exploring opportunities for a pilot program focused on alternative childcare models.
This project will be ongoing due to its social and economic impact on the region’s well-being