HOUSING — AVAILABILITY — CHILDCARE WORKERS
456. Hon WILSON TUCKER to the Leader of the House
representing the Minister for Housing:
I
refer to reports of early childcare and after-school care staffing shortages in
the Kimberley, particularly the limited places at Broome Daycare Centre
and Indigo Montessori Child Care and Kindy in Broome, and the suspension of
after-school care at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Kununurra.
(1) Is the
minister aware that a lack of affordable housing in the Kimberley is attributed
as a cause of the childcare worker shortage?
(2) Does the government provide any
housing support to childcare workers relocating to the Kimberley?
(3) Will the
minister make vacant Government Regional Officer Housing properties available
to childcare workers relocating to the Kimberley?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied;
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(3) Government
Regional Officer Housing—GROH—properties are provided to state
government client agencies to ensure that regional communities have access to
critical state government workers, such as teachers
and police officers. Childcare workers are not employees of a client agency;
however, they are classified as key workers and may seek housing
assistance through their employer. In January, the McGowan government delivered
$1 million in grant funding to boost early childhood education and care
services in regional Western Australia. The grant funding is being made
available over four years to assist local governments to attract and retain
staff, which will in turn help providers offer more childcare places and allow
parents and carers to return to work. Payments of up to $25 000 are available
for individual local government authorities to deliver a range of initiatives
to attract and retain childcare workers in the regions, including through
subsidised accommodation, relocation costs, intrastate travel and training and professional
development.