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LDC new centre openings finish 2024 up 3.4% according to latest ACEQCA snapshot
Jason Roberts
Feb 11, 2025
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The number of new long day care (LDC) centres opened across Australia in the three months to December 2024 rose 3.4 per cent compared to the same period last year, new data from the ACECQA NQF snapshot has shown.
The rise reflects a small increase compared to the June and September quarters of the same year, but remains broadly the same in terms of the growth rate recorded in 2023, with the result marking nearly two years of growth rates sitting at around 3.5 per cent and a real absence of change in momentum on the up or down side since early 2023.
Overall 308 new LDC services opened in 2024, slightly lower than the 313 opened in 2023, however due to the lack of licensed place reporting within the ACECQA snapshot it is not clear whether the fall in centres opened also represents a dip in new licensed places offered.
That being said, centre openings have remained broadly consistent to 2023, a year which in turn was similar to levels recorded in the year before COVID-19 hit in 2019. At the state and territory level the trends, across the larger states, were quite diverse, with New South Wales recording a clear fall in the number of centres built per year, Queensland with a gradual rise and Victoria more or less a steady number since 2019.
As we move into 2025, a number of factors are in play that could impact whether supply trends accelerate or decelerate in the year ahead.
Firstly, the Federal Election could herald in another three years of Labor Government and with it the increased probability that Legislation focusing on the removal of the Activity Test and the introduction of a “3 day guarantee” is passed leading to a demand boost which in turn could incentivise developers to step up their building plans.
Secondly, interest rates may at long last start to retreat, which, when combined with a flatlining of inflation and better access to “trades” could create a more favourable environment for building activity.
Either way, after several years of relatively stable to falling supply growth, 2025 could well see some changes unfold.
Access the latest Snapshot here.
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