Despite rapid growth, Australia’s childcare expansion is accompanied by high staff turnover, management changes, and low wages, raising concerns over quality and safety, experts warn.
Australia’s childcare system is expanding fast, but a new analysis from Victoria University’s Mitchell Institute says that growth has come with a worrying amount of instability. The report argues that high staff turnover, frequent changes in ownership and relatively low pay are creating conditions that can weaken quality and safety in early childhood education. Researchers Peter Hurley, Melissa Tham and Sarah Pilcher say children do best in settings where familiar educators provide consistent care.
The scale of the workforce churn is stark. According to Australian Taxation Office data cited in the report, 52.4% of jobs in child care services in 2022-23 lasted less than a year, more than double the share in primary and secondary education. The report also says early childhood educators and carers earn a median of about A$34.30 an hour, well below the broader labour market and far beneath school teachers’ pay.
The instability is not limited to staff. Mitchell Institute found that about 32% of long day care services operating at the end of 2025 had changed approved provider at least once since 2013, with the figure rising above 40% among for-profit centres. That pattern matters because the research says continuity of management is closely tied to the consistency families experience on the ground.
The report also questions whether Australia’s subsidy model is doing enough to encourage quality. The system, which channels public money to providers through a means-tested fee reduction, has helped fuel a dramatic increase in places over the past 25 years, with long day care capacity rising from 190,900 to about 720,000. But the researchers say funding based on market prices can lock in low wages and thin margins rather than reflect the true cost of high-quality care, especially where staffing and infrastructure expenses are largely fixed.
Concerns about oversight add to the pressure. Mitchell Institute says large private for-profit providers were more than three times as likely to have an enforcement action recorded as other provider types, based on federal data for the past two years. An ABC News investigation in March also reported that tens of thousands of children attend centres failing to meet national standards, underscoring wider worries about uneven regulation and worker shortages.
The researchers say Australia should now shift some of its focus from simply adding places and holding down fees to building a more stable system. They argue that funding should be more closely tied to the real cost of quality provision, while government should play a larger role in disadvantaged areas and places with fewer services. In their view, stability is not a luxury in childcare; it is a basic condition for safe, high-quality care.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
