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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 468 asked in the Legislative Council on 18 May 2022 by Hon Wilson Tucker

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

EARLY CHILD CARE AND AFTER-SCHOOL CARE — KIMBERLEY

468. Hon WILSON TUCKER to the Leader of the House representing the Minister for Communities:

I refer to reports of early child care 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) When did the minister first become aware that staffing shortages in the Kimberley would impact services?

(2) To what does the minister attribute the staffing shortage?

(3) What actions is the minister taking to address the cause of staffing shortages?

(4) What support is the government providing to service providers and families during this crisis?

Hon SUE ELLERY replied:

I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.

(1)–(2) The Department of Communities' education and regulatory care unit is responsible for approving provider and service applications, completing assessments and ratings against the National Quality Standard, monitoring compliance and completing investigations and compliance actions. The federal government is responsible for the funding of the childcare sector through childcare subsidies.

Staff resourcing in regional areas has been a challenge for the sector throughout the pandemic. This issue exists across all jurisdictions, and is not limited to the Kimberley region nor solely to Western Australia.

The Department of Communities' education and care regulatory unit is assisting services by waiving the cost for staffing waivers during the pandemic to support services being able to remain operational.

(3)–(4) The McGowan government has committed $5.1 million towards retaining childcare workers in the regions and establishing sustainable models to support regional child care.

A total of $1 million has been allocated to local government authorities over four years to develop attraction and retention workforce packages specific to their regions to assist with workforce shortages.

A further $4 million will go towards supporting the viability of services in the regions through the development of new models of early childhood education and care services specific to a region.

In addition, the McGowan government has introduced the Lower Fees, Local Skills initiative to reduce the course fees for the Certificate III and Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care qualifications.