Explosive internal documents have laid bare a childcare system in New South Wales that is fundamentally failing families, revealing a regulatory body overwhelmed by demand and parents facing agonising multi-year waits for essential care.
The documents, obtained by the NSW Greens, depict a system in deep crisis. They show the NSW Department of Education is grappling with a staggering backlog of applications for new childcare centres, with some proposals taking over two years to be approved.
A Regulatory Logjam
The heart of the issue lies with the department's capacity to assess and approve new services. The internal briefing papers confirm that the "statutory timeframe for approving centre-based and family day care applications is 12 months". However, the reality is far grimmer, with current performance falling dramatically short of this already lengthy goal.
This bureaucratic paralysis has a direct and devastating impact on the ground. The documents explicitly warn that these delays are "impacting the supply of early childhood education and care places across NSW", exacerbating the availability crisis and leaving countless families in the lurch.
Families Bear the Brunt
For parents, the consequences are severe. The logjam means fewer new centres can open, intensifying competition for existing spots. Families are being forced onto waiting lists that stretch for years, long before their children are even born, creating immense stress and hindering parents', particularly mothers', ability to return to work.
The documents also shed light on the department's struggle to meet its other core responsibilities, including the critical oversight of service quality and safety due to resourcing constraints.
Political Fallout and Calls for Action
NSW Greens MP Abigail Boyd, who secured the documents, has launched a scathing critique of the state government. "The government's own documents prove they have completely failed to fix the childcare crisis," she stated.
Boyd accused the government of being "asleep at the wheel" and emphasised that the inability to process applications in a timely manner is a primary driver of the shortage in available childcare places. The Greens are now demanding urgent intervention to boost resources within the department, streamline approval processes, and treat the issue with the urgency it demands to resolve the systemic failure.
The revelation is set to increase political pressure on the Minns government, forcing it to address what opposition parties and advocates are calling a critical failure in a essential public infrastructure.
