Parents promised childcare over ten years

The City of Sydney has announced it will invest $55 Million into six new childcare centres over the next decade.

A survey conducted by City of Sydney in 2005 found an undersupply of care centres for children aged zero to five years, including waiting lists of over two years.

The new centres will be installed in neighbourhoods with the highest demand.

Jewels Bowering has two young children and noticed a steep demand for childcare in Sydney.

“I was lucky because I put my son into a childcare centre that his older brother previously attended, they automatically put you on the list in that case.”

“Friends of mine have to put their names on waiting lists while they’re still pregnant because the demand is so great, this demand comes from the fact that parents both have to work these days. When I grew up there was nearly always a mother home, but now people are putting their children in from one month old.”

The Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said more families are moving to the city and there is a growing shortage of childcare spaces.

“Since our last childcare survey in 2005, the number of spaces has increased by about 1,000, due to the expansion of our own services and by encouraging new developments to provide childcare spaces,” Ms Moore said.

“But despite this, and the actions of the private sector, there are still large waiting lists for quality childcare in the city and the demand will continue to grow well into the future.”

“We have committed to building the centres over the next 10 years and making these funds available now means we can fast track the purchase of land in step with the projected demand,” Ms Moore said.

“This is a big investment in families in Sydney.”

The City currently operates four childcare facilities across Sydney, and leases a further 16 preschool and long day care centres.

A survey conducted by The Australian Bureau of Statistics showed more than 1.9 million children aged up to 12 years usually attended some kind of care in June 2011.