Although it has yet to open, this ECEC service is already full, illustrating Colac pressures

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in the regional Victorian community of Colac are under pressure, with a new service already at capacity despite still being under construction and not yet having approval to operate. 

Within hours of the approved provider placing an expression of interest on social media, the service had more than 100 messages from prospective new enrolments, more than enough to fill the service. 

Centre operator Peter Gaven said many of those who reached out were in a position where a lack of care was preventing them from returning to work. 

“We’ve got one case, a nurse, who can’t get back to work for more than one day per week because she can’t get any childcare,” he told the ABC. 

With approximately 30 full time spaces, and more than 130 enrolments, it’s clear demand for ECEC in the town, approximately two hours South West of Melbourne, is high. 

Fellow ECEC provider Cathy Thompson manages a neighbouring Colac ECEC service, and said demand for places is so high that she is no longer operating a waiting list, instead “closing the books” until 2024. 

“I’ve been here 27 years and it’s rare that people get into our centre off a waitlist,” she said. “We’re certainly getting a lot of our inquiries, but we’ve got nothing for them. And it’s devastating. [It’s] very hard to keep turning people down.”

The local Colac-Otway Shire Council has acknowledged the issue, with the shire’s general manager of community and economy, Ian Seuren, saying the council was trying to help grow the sector.

Workforce shortages are hampering the efforts from operators to offer more spaces, and in response the Council is running a recruitment campaign which aims to boost the number of family day care services in the area. 

“In the longer-term, we are working with higher levels of government and local partners to find further solutions.”

United Workers Union spokesperson Helen Gibbons said it’s a case of supply and demand – while many city dwellers moved to more regional areas during COVID-19, driving up demand for ECEC spaces, educators did not necessarily make the same moves, leaving services in a position of “high demand, low supply”. 

To read the original coverage of this story, please see here.