It is with great disappointment to be informed that the NSW Minister for Planning, the Hon Anthony Roberts MP, recommended to the Governor and subsequently made the NSW State Environmental Planning Policy (Educational Establishments and Child Care Facilities) 2017 (the SEPP) to be effective 1 September 2017, despite the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW's concerns raised in its submission to NSW Planning.

With ever-growing evidence of childcare oversupply particularly across Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and Coffs Harbour, demonstrably more expensive childcare regulations compared to any other Australian states/territories, as well as actual shortages in skilled early childhood teachers and educators, existing childcare service providers will see the new SEPP only as directly undermining small childcare services, and favouring larger and corporate childcare service providers.

Moreover, the peak industry associations representing not-for-profit as well as privately-owned childcare service providers have independently and publicly stated that childcare oversupply is putting upward pressure on childcare fees. Fixed costs due to legislation and regulations and the impact of oversupply is forcing upward pressures on childcare fees to cover the costs resulting from having fewer children in their care.

Although ACA NSW is supportive of government reform that streamlines processes for the establishment of new childcare services that will save time and costs, we have been consistent with the NSW Department of Planning since prior to the re-election of the Liberal/National Government in March 2015 that the planning and approval system ought also to determine where such new childcare services should be approved based on demonstrable demand. Only with such a planning and approval system can NSW achieve the ultimate balance of childcare supply, quality and affordability for children and their families. The opposite is instead occurring.

And despite ACA NSW's interactions with and submission to NSW Planning especially since 2016, ACA NSW can only view this new SEPP as a policy failure and another lost opportunity that will exacerbate childcare costs to NSW families, while concurrently putting at risk the quality of educational standards.

ACA NSW has also reached out to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, NSW Minister for Early Childhood Education the Hon Sarah Mitchell MLC, and has commenced a communications campaign to all NSW State Parliamentarians about the unintended negative consequences and inherent unfairness about the existing NSW legislative and regulatory framework.