ACA launches sector-wide survey to understand extent of enrolment capping due to staff shortages

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) peak body the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA), has launched a new survey to gain a deeper understanding of the degree to which early learning providers are being forced to cap enrolments due to workforce shortages. 

“We’re seeking your immediate feedback on capping enrolments to create a powerful set of statistics that helps to demonstrate the severity of the problem and the impact on families and the local community,” said Paul Mondo, President of the ACA. 

The ACA’s membership base, like many providers across Australia, has been materially impacted by the ongoing shortage of teachers and educators currently impacting the sector. In order to gain a more fulsome understanding of the depth of the issue, the ACA would also like to include data from beyond its existing members.

As part of its advocacy work, which involves working with both Federal and State and Territory governments, the ACA is seeking to call for more effective and impactful policy that supports early learning services during this challenging period.  

“As an early learning service provider, you would be very much aware that staff shortages are a key issue impacting our sector, with some services impacted more severely than others, depending on their individual circumstances,” Mr Mondo added. 

In light of the above, the ACA survey seeks capping of enrolment statistics for the reference week of Monday 9 May through to Friday 12 May. 

“It’s really important we get a good handle on the current state of capping across the sector now, as in two months time the new Child Care Subsidy will have commenced adding additional pressure to services,” Mr Mondo said. 

“So we are very grateful in advance for each and every reply that we receive.”

The survey is anonymous and consists of just four questions, taking less than ten seconds to complete. 

The survey for single service organisations can be found here The survey for multiple service organisations can be found here. 

For those services who would prefer to respond using a spreadsheet please email a spreadsheet with a row for each service and email the saved file to [email protected]

The survey will remain open until 26 May 2023.