Have Your Say (extended to 21 Oct 2022): NSW Government to fund the creation of new ECEC services

ACA NSW members will recall the NSW Government's State Budget 2022-2023 announcement to create new services in undersupply areas.

Beginning 1 July 2023, the NSW Government would make available $775m over four years (ie an average of $193.75m per year) to build new accessible and affordable early childhood education and care services with a target total of 47,000 places.

ACA NSW has already asked the initial obvious questions:

1. How will the NSW Government determine where are these areas of demand without adequate access to ECEC?
2. What are the criteria that the independent expert panel (appointed by the NSW Government) will use to determine the successful proposal for a new service?
3. Who will be appointed onto this new and transparent expert panel, when will they begin their work, what metrics and rules will they use to determine need, and will they publish their reasons for granting significant funds to new and economically unsustainable services?
4. Will there be minimum and maximum contractual periods for when the NSW Government will agree to providing funding to support these economically unsustainable new services?
5. Will the NSW Government fund these economically unsustainable new services in perpetuity if it never becomes economically viable?
6. How with the NSW Government produce between 4,700 to 11,750 more early childhood educators (due to the existing NSW ratios or 1:10 and 1:4 respectively) to educate and care for the new 47,000 additional children in these identified areas, especially when the sector already needs 13,000 additional educators and teachers by 2023 for existing services?
7. How will the NSW Government ensure that these new childcare centres will not negatively impact existing services, for example due to the severe labour shortages, if educators were to be “poached” from existing services, those services’ loss of that educator(s) can affect up to 10 children and their families who will then not be able to attend their chosen services?

Now called the Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund (with now $5b over 10 years (or $500m per year)), the NSW Government is now seeking your input via its survey which closes Friday, 21 October 2022.

The key three questions the NSW Government is seeking feedback on are:

1. The NSW Government recently announced the Affordable and Accessible Childcare and Economic Participation Fund. It is a landmark $5 billion investment over 10 years to boost access to and affordability of early childhood education and care services. In your opinion, what is the MOST IMPORTANT issue currently faced by parents and families?
2. In your opinion, which approach will have the GREATEST IMPACT in addressing affordability and access to early childhood education and care services in NSW?
3. If you have any other thoughts, ideas or comments you would like to share, please enter below. Or alternatively please email EarlyYearsCommitment@det.nsw.edu.au

ACA NSW strongly encourages its members to share their views via the abovementioned government survey.

For any further information/clarification, members can contact the ACA NSW team via 1300 556 330 or nsw@childcarealliance.org.au.

PUBLISHED: 6 OCTOBER 2022

​UPDATED: 11 OCTOBER 2022