Australia's childcare affordability crisis is intensifying, particularly affecting families like Tasmia Rahman’s, who is struggling to find care for her five-month-old son. The 31-year-old architect from Guildford has faced multiple rejections and lengthy waiting lists at childcare centers, stressing her and her family as they rely solely on her partner's income for now due to her status as a new permanent resident, which also means no maternity leave.
“It’s very stressful because you want to get back to work … because it’s me and my husband only,” Ms. Rahman explained. “There’s no backup plan for [the childcare situation].” The lack of available spots leaves many families, particularly those from lower socio-economic areas, like Ms. Rahman’s, living in what researchers call 'childcare deserts.'
Peter Hurley from Victoria University's Mitchell Institute has studied the prevalence of these deserts across Australia, defining them as regions where the demand for childcare exceeds supply, often with three or more children for every available spot. His research reported alarming statistics, indicating 34% of Australian regions were classified as childcare deserts as of 2022, which improved slightly to 24% by 2024.
Despite this slight improvement, Dr. Hurley emphasized the economic disparities influencing childcare availability, stating, “Providers are incentivised to operate in higher socio-economic areas because they can charge higher fees.” This misalignment means families from lower socio-economic backgrounds increasingly find themselves with fewer childcare options.
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are likely to gain the most from high-quality childcare, as noted by Hurley, who stressed the connection between early childhood education and long-term educational outcomes. “One of the things that's important about early childhood care is giving someone the best start in life and going on to school and beyond,” he added.
Angela Smith, a social researcher at Western Sydney University, highlighted the impact of this crisis on women's employment rates: “Childcare deserts led to lower rates of women’s labour force participation.” The Centre for Western Sydney reported female labour force participation is at about 65% compared to 76% across other parts of Sydney.
Smith pointed out how families struggle with transport costs and securing local, well-paying jobs, exacerbated by economic pressures. “There’s less white-collar and managerial jobs available in Western Sydney,” she noted, changing the dynamics of work-life balance for families living there. This has resulted in some families traveling long distances to secure childcare, often at significant costs.
Experts are now advocating for universal childcare to address these inequities, promoting it as not just a childcare issue but part of broader social justice debates. “For us, childcare is just one piece of the overall puzzle around spatial justice and spatial equity,” Dr. Smith said. The disparity creates not only financial strain but affects gender equality and economic participation for families.
The broader housing affordability crisis also plays its part in this childcare conversation. Recent data shows potential home price drops, indicating the economic strains families face are both immediate and long-term. The required household income to afford Sydney's median prices remains alarmingly high, exacerbated by economic circumstances and the completion of developers' projects.
Finder.com.au analysts have found homebuyers need nearly $280,000 annually to afford the city's median price home, which sits at roughly $1.44 million. Taylor Blackburn from Finder noted, “If you aren’t lucky enough to have the bank of mum and dad on your side … home ownership is moving more and more out of reach.” He indicated the inadequacy of housing market dynamics fuels the childcare crisis, where often both markets interdepend critically on one another.
The situation not only raises concerns for parents aiming to secure quality education and care for their children but also poses significant societal issues as the balance between work and family life becomes increasingly precarious. With families like Ms. Rahman’s caught between needing affordable childcare and stable housing, the conversation around childcare deserts remains urgent.
“We just see such a spatial divide in terms of inequity across income and education levels,” concluded Angela Smith. Without intervention, the affordability crisis will continue to disenfranchise families, limiting opportunities for children and perpetuating cycles of poverty and inequality.