Albany childcare centres report massive waitlists as availability hits all-time low

Albany’s child care availability has reached an all-time low, with centres reporting waitlists nearly double their capacity. This week it was revealed 98.4 per cent of Albany’s population is living in a “child care desert” with only one place on offer for every 5.29 children under the age of four, according to a landmark report into childcare availability in Australia from Victoria University. A “child care desert” is considered an area where there are not enough childcare places to meet potential demand, or there are more than three children vying for one available childcare place. The report found WA had the worst childcare availability in the country, with only six regions having enough places to meet demand — all in the metropolitan area. Nearly 89 per cent of regional WA is living with an acute shortage of child care, so families are missing out and parents are unable to re-enter the workforce. This was in stark contrast to the Eastern States, where between 64 per cent and 78 per cent of the population had good access to child care. Demand for child care in Albany has skyrocketed during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, with childcare centres reporting an influx of families relocating from Perth or interstate to take up jobs. This was paired with a huge surge in “COVID babies” born during the pandemic whose parents are now ready to go back to work. Kingdom Kare Childcare Centre director Debra Aylmore said in her 25 years in the industry, she had never seen anything like the current demand. “Up until 2019 we’ve always been looking for kids to fill vacancies,” she said. “Since COVID, after the shutdowns, it has just been a steady increase. “We have been full for two years now and cramming them in. And I have probably got about 10 on a waitlist. “There are a lot of babies wanting to come in and I’ve never seen anything like it. “I asked licensing if I could get extra spaces in the building because I know there is such a high demand, but I can’t do that. “I am capped at how many kids I can have and we are at that every day — we are at capacity.” Ms Aylmore said more needed to be done to train and retain educators so local centres could keep up their required staff to child ratios, which were being put under further strain as workforces grappled with the spread of COVID-19. Rainbow Child Care Centre co-ordinator Caroline Bole said with 42 children at the centre a day, staff were already at capacity, but they had about 50 more families in line. “Demand has increased dramatically over the last two years,” she said. “I probably get two phone calls a day from people around town wanting child care. “They are new families to Albany and they didn’t realise it was going to be so difficult to get child care. “It is quite sad that they can’t start work . . . all the services are knocking back potential parents that can work.” Ms Bole said it wasn’t easy for existing childcare centres to expand. “We’d love to be bigger but there is just not the availability of a place to put us,” she said. “We are in a little old building at TAFE which we love. We have been here for over 25 years, but we do have the potential to grow, and just not in this building.” YMCA Albany Early Learning Centre director Anneli Hawkins said the centre had a “massive waitlist” of at least 75 children, with its 38 places filled every day. “People are ringing constantly,” she said. “Parents can’t go back to work . . . which means in the end, places like the hospital won’t have enough staff because they have to stay home and look after their children.” Ms Hawkins said more childcare centres in Albany were needed but that wasn’t the only solution and urgent steps were needed to make the industry more attractive so educators wanted to work in the regions. She said it was particularly difficult to recruit teachers, with at least one required at each centre. “Number one, open more childcare centres but at the same time, because it is difficult to get educators for the industry, they need to also make the job a little bit more attractive,” she said. “Maybe with better pay and better work conditions.”