Laura Liston considers herself relatively fortunate. There is one childcare centre a 10-minute drive from her Skipton home – but its hours of operation are limited.

The childcare centre services a population of nearly 600; it is open only on Mondays and Fridays, from 9am to 3:30pm. Tuesdays to Thursdays it acts as a kindergarten.

Liston put her son on the childcare waiting list when he was six-weeks-old and secured his spot 12 months later. But another childcare facility, 30km away in Beaufort, didn’t have a waiting list at all. It left Liston with a tough choice.

“Because of the limited hours in Skipton, our son goes there one day a week and then three days to the centre in Beaufort so that I can attend work and study,” Liston, a precision agriculture specialist, told the Brolga.

Now, Liston finds herself running most of her errands in Beaufort to make the most of the 50-minute round trip. 

“It's a reality for many families in our community,” she said. “The local economy suffers when parents are forced to spend their time and money in other towns due to inadequate childcare availability.”

Liston and her husband, a farmer, are expecting their second child in July. Their childcare challenges are not unique. The southwest region, where the young family lives, is considered a “childcare desert”, which is an area where there are more than three children per childcare place available. 

A community group was recently formed to explore childcare options and how best to support local families.

“Having a dedicated early learning centre in Skipton would benefit not just the children and families but the entire local economy,” said Liston.

Southwest Victoria’s childcare deserts

The Parenthood is an Australian advocacy group for parents and carers. Its campaign director, Maddy Butler, said the electorate of Wannon and much of the southwest Victorian region was in a childcare desert. 

“Research from the Mitchell Institute reveals that, across Wannon, there are 0.45 places per child,” Butler told the Brolga. “Moyne East (0.242 places per child) and Colac Surrounds (0.186 places per child) have the worst access.”

Butler said the current early learning market has failed in the regions and governments needed to step in. 

“We have heard that services across Wannon, such as in Warrnambool, can struggle to find staff, making it hard to operate at full capacity. A regional, rural and remote early education workforce strategy would improve recruitment and retention in the sector.”

Independent candidate for Wannon, Alex Dyson, told the Brolga childcare was a major priority in southwest Victoria. 

“It’s one of the top issues raised with me wherever I go in the electorate,” he said. “Families have told me how they’ve been forced to move because of lack of childcare availability. There are extensive waitlists in most regional towns in Wannon, with no childcare centres in too many areas.”

Dyson said “this often leaves grandparents to shoulder the burden, and stops parents from getting back to work, contributing to cost of living pressures families are facing”.

The Brolga sought comment from Wannon MP Dan Tehan, but did not receive a response.

Last week, the Coalition announced its election pledge to create a $20 billion “Regional Australia Future Fund” (RAFF) that would focus on improving childcare, health and infrastructure inequality in rural and regional Australia. The party says the RAFF would provide an annual $1 billion dividend to pay for infrastructure and services local councils can’t afford.

In February, the Labor government abolished the activity test for childcare subsidy limits, introducing an early education three-day guarantee, providing three days a week of subsidised early education for children who need it from January 2026.

If re-elected, Labor has pledged a $1 billion Building Early Education Fund, funding more centres in outer suburbs and regional Australia. 

Liston said she is pleased to see early childhood education and care on the election radar.

“With greater access to these services, families will have more opportunities to participate in paid work and create life balance.”