NSW Government pledges 100 new long day care centres as key election promise

The New South Wales Government has pledged to open 100 new long day care centres (LDC) as a pre-election promise if they are successful at retaining power at the next state election. 

Premier Chris Minns said the centres would be built on existing public primary school sites and in areas deemed so-called childcare deserts noting that the government would "not be indiscriminate" about new locations and that he expected many to open in Western Sydney and regional NSW.

No further details about costing, location or timing were made available at the time of the announcement, which is not inconsistent with election pledges of this nature but will certainly put the issue of early learning very much on the agenda as voting day on the 13 March 2027 approaches.

Long day care pre-election pledge mirrors Minns’ preschool build pledge in 2023

Premier Minns’ pre-election pledge to build 100 new long day care centres on public school sites mirrors a similar pledge to build 100 preschools, similarly located, that he made while he was in opposition ahead of the 2023 election. 

Having successfully secured power he progressed the pre-school roll out with a targeted completion date of 2027. However, at the time of writing it is understood that just 21 to 25 of the original 100 have been completed with doubts being raised as to whether the balance will be open, as promised, by the commencement of the school year in January. 

With respect to the new LDC centres pledge additional details regarding location, cost and timeline will be keenly awaited by the broader ECEC community who will be acutely aware as to just how complex, and expensive, it is to build, staff and maintain centres in the current high construction cost and compliance focused environment. 

To read the ABC’s reporting on the matter please click here.