Finding a spot in early learning and care can be tricky anywhere in Australia, but it is especially so for families living in regional, rural and remote areas.
“In my town the access to childcare is horrendous. When I reached out to daycares I was told there was a 5-year waitlist.” - Grace, Pilbara, whose story appeared in Choiceless.
The 2022 Mitchell Institute report Deserts and oases: How accessible is childcare? found that 50% of families in regional areas and around 80% of families in remote neighbourhoods are stranded in ‘childcare deserts’ (an area where there are 3+ children for every available position).
Our 2023 report, Choiceless: The plight of parents in accessing regional, rural and remote early learning and care, supports this data. In 166 stories and case studies from across the country, regional, rural and remote families and community members share their struggles due to inaccessible childcare.
In 2024, we published a new report, IMPACTFUL: The negative impacts of inaccessible early learning on regional, rural and remote communities, with 162 stories illustrating the negative impacts lack of care has on regional, rural and remote children, parents, carers, workforces, communities and economies.
“Imagine you’re a woman living in rural South Australia. You work in a sheep and cattle business with your husband. You’re also a nurse at the local hospital. After you start a family, you want to return to nursing two days a week to contribute to your family financially. But there’s no access to childcare and the waitlist is 35 families long. What do you do?
“This is my story.” - Kirsty Starling, Kingston SE, whose story appeared in IMPACTFUL
All of our stories and case studies from the regions are available to read in full here. We continue to collect stories from regional, rural and remote communities to demonstrate that this issue has a wide impact on Australian families, and will not improve without strong government action. Share your story here.
