February saw a significant milestone in the Victorian city of Wyndham, with three major construction projects coming to a close, delivering new and improved community centres and facilities across the city.

The Sutherland Shire could soon be home to a four-storey childcare centre, should a recent application submitted to the Sutherland Shire Council go ahead, local news source St George and Sutherland Shire Leader has said.

As major employers and contributors to Australia’s economy, local family owned businesses, including those who own and manage early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, face a range of issues that can impact on their success – in the immediate and longer term.

An Australian family on the average wage typically spends close to A$6,000 out of pocket per year on child care, a new analysis from the Mitchell Institute shows. This is more than the average cost of sending a child to a private primary school.

Construction has begun on a new $7.1 million early childhood education and care (ECEC) facility which aims to provide a ‘wraparound service’ for families with young children in Victoria’s Maiden Gully area, near the regional city of Bendigo.