Since February 2017, the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW was the first organisation in NSW to publicly declare that childcare oversupply exists. This was in response to the NSW Government’s then proposal to introduce new state planning reform which removed local councils' planning and regulatory powers over childcare services, thereby faclitating more childcare oversupply.

Over the last 18 months, ACA NSW has implemented the following:

1. producing the 2017 submission to the NSW Government in response to the Draft State Environmental Planning Policy (Educational ane Child Care Centres) 2017;
2. identifying and publishing (in April 2017) the 28 out of 37 NSW-based local government areas experiencing childcare oversupply;
3. educating federal, state and local governments and politicians and their bureaucrats about childcare oversupply;
4. presenting to the Senate Select Committee on Red Tape;
5. discussing with first and second tier banks about better lending practices to avoid childcare supply;
6. informing architects and developers about negative financial consequences from childcare oversupply;
7. conducting a New Owners and New Investors Night and helping them avoid childcare oversupply; 
8. presenting at 32 (to date) Network Meetings about childcare oversupply;
9. providing media and market analysts with regulatory and commercial information about the consequences of childcare oversupply;
10. discussing with the four major political parties about their 2019 election campaign policies to address childcare oversupply; and
11. with ACA NSW's state peers, commissioned Urban Economics to produce a new economist-based report about childcare oversupply for 2018/2019.

So far, although the work to stop childcare oversupply is not yet finished, ACA NSW is pleased with the following:

• the media has generally stopped publishing articles about childcare undersupply and instead have begun publishing about the problems with childcare oversupply;
• most banks and financial institutions have tightened up their lending practices and thereby stopping funding of new childcare centres that cannot demonstrate genuine demand;
• the Federal Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education (the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP) is now the most senior politician talking about the ill effects of childcare oversupply;
• the Senate Select Committee on Red Tape gave serious consideration about childcare oversupply; and
• the Centre for Independent Studies confirmed childcare oversupply does exist in its “Childcare is not affordable” report, and has recommended to governments seeking a comprehensive rethink.

ACA NSW, along with its state peers, remain committed to advocating for solutions to childcare oversupply at federal, state and local government levels.

Published: 20 September 2018