Can the 2025 Federal Election turn Casey’s Childcare Desert into a Thriving Oasis?
In the lead-up to the 2022 Casey Federal election, Mums of the Hills (MotHs) highlighted an ABC article on the nation's childcare blackspots, which identified the Yarra Ranges region as a childcare ‘desert’. Back then, 15.43–15.87 children were competing for every childcare place in the region, leaving families facing lengthy waitlists for available spots. Although new research by The Mitchell Institute provided exclusively in this 2024 ABC article suggests that things are improving, for places like Sassafras with 50+ children per one long daycare space available, their 11% improvement is hardly a cause for celebration. The continuing shortage not only increases stress for families but also limits the participation of parents, particularly women, in the workforce. Finding childcare has become one of the biggest concerns for parents of young children in Casey, exacerbating everyday stresses and curtailing any attempts to provide additional income at a time when interest rates and the cost of living have skyrocketed.
The Yarra Ranges has been identified as an area with scarce childcare availability.
Despite minor improvements, the supply of childcare places in the Casey Electorate remains critically low. Data from 2024 continues to show that parents in the Yarra Ranges struggle to secure spots for their children. The situation is particularly severe in some suburbs where ratios range from 10 to 50+ children per place, making it nearly impossible for working families to access early childhood education and care. As a result, some parents are left with no choice but to rely on informal childcare arrangements, which may not always be sustainable or beneficial for child development, adding further complexity to an already dire situation.
Census data reveals that women continue to bear the primary burden of childcare responsibilities. The 2021 Census recorded over one million one-parent families, with four out of five of those parents being female. With limited childcare availability, women are frequently forced to reduce working hours, delay career progression, or leave the workforce altogether. This exacerbates gender pay gaps and economic disparities, placing many single mothers and female caregivers in a position of financial vulnerability. For single parents with no alternative caregivers, the challenges of balancing employment and childcare become even more daunting, pushing many into financial hardship and limiting their opportunities for economic stability.
Many Casey residents work outside the region, with an average commuting distance of 28 km, significantly higher than the Victorian average of 16.7 km. This reality makes access to long daycare hours essential. However, extended daycare does not necessarily translate to higher earnings for families—rather, it merely accommodates commute times. The current system fails to support parents adequately, particularly those who rely on longer hours to maintain full-time employment. Moreover, many daycare centres have limited operating hours that do not align with non-traditional work schedules, leaving shift workers and emergency service personnel with few viable childcare options. Without adequate care solutions, many parents must make difficult compromises between career advancement and family obligations.
While recent childcare rebate increases were designed to alleviate financial pressure, many centres in the Casey Electorate have simultaneously raised their fees, eroding any intended savings for families. The rising costs of goods, services, and utilities have impacted childcare providers, leading to unavoidable fee hikes. Consequently, families are struggling to afford the care they desperately need, deepening financial distress, particularly in a climate of escalating living costs. As financial burdens mount, some families are forced to withdraw their children from early education altogether, a decision that can have long-term developmental consequences and further hinder future opportunities for both children and parents.
The figures presented below are derived from a comprehensive analysis conducted by The Mitchell Institute, which calculated supply (childcare places) and potential demand (children aged five and younger not yet in school) for centre-based services like long day care and preschool across more than 58,000 neighbourhoods and 13,000 childcare centres in Australia. By focusing on where families live rather than where they work, this study provides a detailed snapshot of childcare accessibility in the Casey Electorate. Since 2020, national childcare access has improved by 12.7% based on changes in median places per child. It’s important to note however, that while the research highlights improvements, the research does not explain whether those improvements are due to more spaces available or simply due to fewer children not yet in school in that area. Given Australia’s declining birth rate, now the lowest it’s ever been, people might simply be not having children due to the social and economic challenges. That’s said, in Casey, the progress has been uneven, with some suburbs still experiencing severe shortages.
A closer look at the data reveals the severity of the childcare crisis across the Casey Electorate. Some key observations include:
Coldstream: Experienced a staggering 113.11% improvement in childcare availability, but this improvement does little to address the ongoing issues with 9.52 children per one long daycare place available. We acknowledge that the improvement in availability is something to smile about. However, it just goes to show how dire the childcare situation actually is. Suffice it to say, there's no celebrating in Coldstream just yet.
Silvan, Monbulk, Sassafras, Wandin, and Seville: Continue to have ratios ranging from 10 to 50+ children per childcare place, making placements highly competitive and leaving many parents without viable options. The lack of adequate facilities in these suburbs is worsening the childcare desert phenomenon as families seek long daycare in neighbouring suburbs.
Belgrave: Shows only a slight improvement, with a 3.03% increase in availability. While this may seem encouraging, many families are still left without viable options.
Warburton and surrounding areas: Face ongoing shortages despite minor percentage improvements in access. The geographic remoteness of some of these areas adds an additional barrier for families who must travel long distances for care, further compounding the issue of accessibility.
Data presented from The Mitchell Institute provides localised examples of Casey electorate suburbs continuing to struggle with childcare availability despite improvements. Dark brown indicates the areas with the scarcest childcare availability. Light blue indicates the childcare is adequate.
These statistics make it clear that despite some improvements, many families in our region still face significant challenges in accessing childcare, highlighting the urgent need for more targeted attention and intervention to address these persistent shortages.
The childcare crisis in the Casey Electorate remains a pressing issue, affecting accessibility, affordability, and workforce participation, particularly for women and single parents. While broader economic challenges contribute to rising costs, government intervention remains sluggish in addressing childcare deserts like the Yarra Ranges, leaving many families without viable childcare options and increasing the strain on working parents. Without urgent action, families will continue to struggle with unaffordable and inaccessible childcare, limiting economic growth and personal well-being. Immediate and targeted solutions are required to ensure that all families have access to quality, affordable childcare and that parents—regardless of gender or family status—can participate fully in the workforce.