“The whole region is suffering”: Western Victoria’s childcare desert is getting worse, not better

Last year, the Brolga reported on childcare deserts and their negative consequences for communities in Western Victoria. A year later, little has changed.

What happened: According to Victoria University’s Mitchell Institute, Western Victoria is littered with childcare deserts: places where there are less than 0.333 places per child, or more than three children per available place.

What’s the problem? Across the state, the Institute reports that the percentage of childcare deserts has reduced by 9% between 2020 and 2024, but the opposite has occurred in much of southwest Victoria.

• Corangamite Shire Mayor Kate Makin told the Brolga: “When I first started [on Council], we weren't classed as a desert. It’s got worse.”

More than one case: Over in Golden Plains Shire, communities such as Teesdale, Inverleigh, Scarsdale and Smythesdale currently have no childcare services operating at all. 

• Moyne Shire Mayor Jordan Lockett said a shortage of centres, difficulty attracting and retaining workers, and operating costs are key drivers of the childcare desert in his area.

• “As a local father too, I have seen firsthand the stress this places on families, and the difficult choices parents are forced to make about work and income,” Lockett added.

The issue of childcare deserts in Western Victoria has little to do with whether it is run publicly or privately, as this varies across the region, but the impacts of inaccessible and unavailable childcare are almost identical on communities. 

That is, when people cannot return to work or work less hours, local productivity dips, and community growth stagnates. In some cases, people simply move away.

“So it's not just the parents, it's the whole region that's suffering,” said Makin.

What could work? Jill Bingham, a grandmother from Skipton, works with a group of women in the area undertaking independent research on childcare models that could best support rural communities.

“There are now so many women working in agriculture in the region,” said Bingham.

“We want to keep their skill and passion in our local area. A proper childcare model can do that.”

Adding to the stress: Demand for childcare centres is also created by increased kindergarten demand. 

The State Government’s increase to the free three-and-four-year-old kindergarten program could have overflow effects, and many long-day care places are utilised for kinder students.

In Corangamite, “kindergarten hours are actually squeezing out the long daycare for working families,” said Makin.

The solution: More buildings to house childcare centres, increased local training opportunities, and making investment attractive for the private sector were all referenced regularly by community leaders in considering how to reduce the childcare deserts in Western Victoria.

A new centre: The SouthWest Victoria Alliance, which comprises the shires of Corangamite, Glenelg, Moyne, Southern Grampians, and the City of Warrnambool, made a $5 million Federal election bid in 2025 to establish a new Childcare Centre of Excellence at Deakin University in Warrnambool. 

The centre would train and build a stronger local workforce, and while the bid for funding was unsuccessful last year, the Alliance continues to seek funding for its development from all levels of government.

“For the whole of the Southwest, it's really important for us. If people get trained locally, those people will stay locally in our five shires, and that is what we need - people with qualifications to fill these spots, to run these centres,” said Makin.