While some editorial liberties were taken with the headline above, it is still not quite far from the truth as it stands today.
As members would be aware, the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW has been concerned about the current planning and service approval processes as implemented by the NSW Department of Planning, local councils and the NSW Department of Education.
Since August 2017, the NSW Government’s then new State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) (Educational Establishments and Child Care Facilities) was introduced with the view of stopping councils from unnecessarily objecting to new childcare services. Since then, local councils across NSW has effectively been stripped of their powers except land rezoning and car parking requirements when considering new childcare services in their respective local government areas.
The NSW Department of Education also implemented its unique NSW Enhanced Approval Process since 1 July 2016. This new process obliges the Department to ensure the health, safety and well-being of children and ensure quality education for the children in care. This process also involves conducting a risk assessment on new and existing providers which includes individuals and entities.
In doing so, the NSW Government has effectively not given any regulatory authority any powers to prevent a new childcare service to be sited next to or near an existing brothel as well as other adult entertainment.
So far, ACA NSW has identified two early childhood education and care services (one in Artarmon and the other in Penrith) that have been approved to operate next to or within uncomfortable proximity to existing brothels. ACA NSW is currently investigating a third service that opened in 2018.
ACA NSW has continued to engage with the NSW Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning (the Hon Sarah Mitchell MLC) and the NSW Minister for Planning (the Hon Rob Stokes MP) about concerns over how services are approved by all regulatory authorities. So far, Minister Mitchell says this matter is the responsibility of the relevant councils.