NSW councils are demanding urgent action to expand and properly fund council-run childcare services in response to a parliamentary inquiry into the early childhood education and care sector, finding that large for-profit childcare providers are lower quality and less safe than not-for-profit providers.
LGNSW President Mayor Darcy Byrne said the report confirmed what councils have long warned of.
“The inquiry exposes serious problems with big for-profit childcare providers. The answer is clear – shift investment into not-for-profits, including council-run services, to lift safety and quality,” Mayor Byrne said.
“Right now, too many NSW families can’t secure childcare, and when they do, they deserve confidence their children are safe. Council services deliver the trusted care parents need.
“We are in the middle of a safety crisis in early childhood education. The revelations about abuse and neglect have shocked and appalled us all. It’s abundantly clear that this problem is festering in the for-profit sector.
“Councils, by contrast, are proven providers of safer, more reliable and more affordable care.
“This is particularly true in geographical areas where there is little choice or where bigger providers have vacated the market.
“Governments must act now with dedicated funding to expand council services – families simply cannot afford delays.”
The NSW Upper House Committee also made several recommendations aligned with LGNSW’s advocacy, including addressing workforce shortages, establishing a National Early Childhood Education and Care Commission and restructuring funding imbalances to increase the overall percentage of not-for-profit and government run centres.
LGNSW’s submission: to the inquiry also highlighted that council-run services consistently delivered high-quality care and were more likely to support vulnerable children, low-income families, children with disability, and regional communities, while a greater proportion exceed National Quality Standards.
