Since early 2017, the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW had been warning the NSW Government that their then new State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) (Educational Establishments and Child Care Facilities) 2017, would exacerbate childcare oversupply. What was meant to streamline approval processes had its pendulum swing too far the other way, effectively removing all reasonable powers from local councils.
Since August 2017, local councils and ACA NSW have learned about the "unintended" consequences of this SEPP, including:
- multiple childcare facilities next door to each other on the same street
- no effective ability for councils to determine whether the size of the proposed childcare service is appropriate for the area;
- no power of councils to refuse on the basis of incompatibility to co-exist with existing and anticipated traffic volumes and patterns;
- inadequate consideration of how many children, where and how quickly they can evacuate and then assemble in the event of an emergency; and
- risk of inconsistent refusals by councils thereby allowing some childcare services to be unreasonably located next or near restricted premises, adult services and/or hazardous sites.
ACA NSW has made its submission to the NSW Department of Planning. And we encourage early childhood education and care service providers as well as local councils to convey their experiences of the SEPP and their potential remedies.
ACA NSW is unaware of when the review of the SEPP will conclude.
PUBLISHED: 12 DECEMBER 2019