Children competing for a place in childcare
New research found almost 1 in 4 Australians - live in a childcare desert, meaning an area where three or more children are competing for one childcare place. The data shows there are more than twice as many children as childcare places across Australia.
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00:00So this study was carried out by the Mitchell Institute for Education at Victoria University
00:07in Australia.
00:08It's actually a world first study where they've analysed child care access right down to the
00:13street level in more than nine developed countries.
00:16So that includes England, the Netherlands, France, Scandinavian countries like Norway
00:21and Sweden, for example, and of course, Australia.
00:25And one of the main reasons for carrying out this study was to really compare different
00:28kinds of models, because with the huge influx of women into the workforce, more and more
00:33children are entering formal care and child care really is an international issue and
00:39working out which is the best system to provide the most equitable access and the best access
00:44has become an international puzzle.
00:46So tell us more about what this study found.
00:49So in Australia, there are some deep geographical divides across Australia, as you said in your
00:55introduction.
00:56There are more than twice as many children per child care places, but there are big divides
01:00between remote areas of Australia and major cities.
01:04So in remote areas, the gap between those two areas, the gap has widened.
01:08So in remote areas, those families are now 3.7 times as likely to live in a child care
01:13desert as families in major cities.
01:17And that is quite a bit wider than four years ago when they were 2.3 times as likely.
01:22So what we find is that in regional areas, that access has a big impact.
01:27And here we can hear, let's listen to lead author Peter Hurley from Victoria University
01:31talking about why that matters so much in regional areas.
01:35Look, it can be difficult for a provider to operate there.
01:39If there's not enough children to keep a service going, then it might have to close.
01:45And if that happens, the next closest provider might be a very far, far way away.
01:49So it's a bigger issue in regional areas.
01:53So Inge, what change are experts calling for here?
01:57So experts are really calling for the government to do more to intervene in the market.
02:02In Australia, the child care subsidy is provided to families rather than to providers.
02:06So providers are free to operate wherever they want.
02:09This is quite distinct from how it operates in Scandinavian countries, where the government
02:13actually says to providers, look, we will subsidise you to operate in specific areas
02:18that perhaps might not be as profitable for you.
02:21So if we look at the top 10 list of the places with best child care access in Australia,
02:25it really tells us a lot.
02:27That list has seven out of 10 locations in the ACT, which is a more high income state
02:34than the others and doesn't have vast regional areas where there's lower population figures.
02:40But topping that list is an area called Peterman Simpson in the Northern Territory,
02:45just south of Darwin.
02:47It's a regional area.
02:48It has a very low population, a large Indigenous population as well.
02:54But there is a federally funded program there that focuses specifically on childhood early
02:59education and development.
03:01So what we can see there is the impact that government intervention can have to even out
03:06some of those markets where perhaps people can't pay as much or there aren't as many
03:10families there.
03:11And so child care providers don't want to take that business risk of operating in an
03:15area where they might not be able to make as much profit.
03:19So that's the top 10 list of the places with best child care access in Australia.
03:23So if we look at the top 10 list of the places with best child care access in Australia,
03:27it really tells us a lot.
03:28So if we look at the top 10 list of the places with best child care access in Australia,
03:33it really tells us a lot.
03:34So if we look at the top 10 list of the places with best child care access in Australia,
03:38it really tells us a lot.
03:39So if we look at the top 10 list of the places with best child care access in Australia,
03:42it really tells us a lot.