Prior to the 2019 federal election, the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW had been communicating with the Federal Government in relation to the unintended phenomenon of childcare oversupply which is helping to increase childcare fees at the expense of parents and taxpayers due to lower occupancies.
As outlined in the Child Care Subsidy Secretary’s Rules 2017, as required by subparagraph 201D(3)(a)(iv) of the Family Assistance Administration Act, approved providers must provide daily and weekly totals of the number of hours of care provided during the statement period, including start and end times for each session of care and the start and end times of every child’s physical attendances.
Given that the Federal Department of Education collects such information every week, and that the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) also records the maximum number of places for each service, it is therefore possible for the Federal Department of Education to be able to generate aggregated reports that advises what are the general occupancy levels in various geographic areas. Such information would be significantly valuable in informing the market so that prospective new entrants will know where childcare undersupply and oversupply are.
The Federal Department’s Early Childhood and Childcare in Summary reports have already reported annual year-on-year increases of vacancies. The March 2018 quarter showed 94% of all long daycare services had vacancies, which is the highest over the last six reported years.
Reported Daily Vacancies in Long Day Care Centres (March Quarter)
https://www.education.gov.au/early-childhood-and-child-care-reports
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| Average number of vacancies | 80,630 | 92,340 | 98,510 | 110,510 | 122,570 | 145,907 |
| % of centres reporting vacancies | 86% | 90% | 91% | 91% | 93% | 94% |
Unfortunately, under Freedom of Information, the Federal Department confirmed on 16 April 2019 that the existing Child Care Subsidy System is unable to produce the reports that we are seeking, even though the Department collects such information.
ACA NSW has offered to help the re-appointed Federal Minister for Education and the Federal Department of Education to develop the appropriate tool(s) to enable aggregated reports to be dynamically produced at the postcode-level. Such data and reports could then be made available via the Federal Department of Education’s website.