Rural communities feel locked out of national childcare fund

Rural communities across the country are feeling locked out of a national childcare fund, despite a federal government promise to build centres and expand early childhood education services.

Advocates say families in regional areas are being excluded from accessing new services, with a lack of childcare affecting western Queensland. The Albanese government's Building Early Education Fund (BEEF) was launched last July to address the issue, but childcare advocates in regional Queensland believe the fund has shut out rural areas from accessing finance.

Limited access to funding

The Future Care Project's Angela Cochrane said she had worked with a collection of outback councils to better understand how many rural families had been impacted. Forums held in Longreach and Blackall in the state's central west highlighted how families and providers felt ignored, Ms Cochrane said.

"They just realised there wasn't any opportunity coming … no-one was asking them what was happening in their communities," she said.

Ms Cochrane said a video provided to a forum by federal Early Childhood Education Minister Jess Walsh missed the mark.

"The first thing that [the minister] said in response to us coming together was, 'The fund is there', and [yet] no-one's eligible for it," Ms Cochrane said.

Ms Cochrane said rural areas often relied on centres run by local councils, but under BEEF guidelines, those centres were ineligible to apply for funding.

"Everyone at every level has been excluded from this funding," Ms Cochrane said.

"Even [the] community-led non-for-profit [centre] here in Goondiwindi has been knocked back on eligibility. It's nonsensical."

Minister's response

Ms Walsh said in a statement the fund's eligibility was designed to support high-quality, not-for-profit centres in areas of unmet need.

"We'll continue to listen to councils, providers and local communities as the fund is rolled out," she said.

Unique challenges in rural towns

Tayla Jackson knows what it is like to live in a childcare desert. With no childcare centres in her western Queensland home of Aramac, she relied heavily on informal care.

"Currently, our situation is that we have a lovely lady who's looking after [our son] Ryan one day a week," the primary school teacher said.

Ms Jackson said needing to care for Ryan impacted her ability to work full time, which had caused financial strain.

"Cost of living and inflation is always going up, that's a worry … and fuel prices because Aramac's a bit isolated," she said.

Call for policy change

Similar concerns have led advocates to call for policy to directly address the challenges of providing child care in the bush. A Senate inquiry announced in August to examine gaps in early childhood education and care services across rural Australia has already received several submissions.

Family Daycare Queensland CEO Stella Conroy said the organisation wanted to see a specific strategy developed and to be involved in consultation.

A submission by the Central Highlands Development Corporation stated the fund's small-scale guidelines limited who could apply. Regional development coordinator Deb Barns said for childcare providers wanting to set up in a small town, most of the buildings available were owned by council.

"A council has statutory processes for land dealings that [can] run for months, and a grant round doesn't wait for them," she said.

"The requirement is hardest to meet in exactly the communities the program was designed to reach."

Rural mayors voice concerns

Some rural mayors have voiced their concerns directly with the federal minister, including Quilpie Shire's Ben Hall.

"It's just another one of those things where people start to think, 'Am I disadvantaged by being here in regional and remote areas?'" Cr Hall said.

He said the centre in his town would not be eligible for expansion funding because the provider was not large enough.

"It only limits our capacity, not only in the childcare, but also in our communities, to grow."