Australia’s child care hot spots revealed

As the number one child care search and comparison site, we have released the most in-demand suburbs for long day care services around the nation[1], revealing demand for child care is on the rise following the lifting of restrictions and lockdowns. This data was picked up by the media and a number of stories were published across news outlets including the Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph, and Courier-Mail.

New South Wales snapped up eight of the top 10 spots nationally, with Schofields coming in as the country’s most sought-after suburb for child care.

Home to 27 long day care services, Schofields was the most searched suburb nationally on the Care for Kids platform between 1 July to 30 September 2021. What’s more, the suburb saw 54% growth in searches during October alone compared to the previous quarter.

With only six child care centres available, Brisbane’s CBD came in as Queensland’s number one searched suburb for care, and also experienced a 43% rise in searches last month alone.

Down south, Richmond – home to 20 centres – was the most popular suburb in Victoria and saw a 5% growth in searches for October.

The data also revealed the ACT’s most popular suburb was Belconnen, while Alice Springs, Hobart, Adelaide City and Perth City topped the search lists in their respective states and territories.

Care for Kids is the leading authority in child care search, with more than three million site visits each year.

Care for Kids Chief Marketing Officer Lauren Simpson said search numbers for long day care services were strong during the July quarter, despite lockdowns and restrictions in place that impacted access to child care.

“Average daily searches in October alone were up 27% on the July to September period, showing that child care is back on the priority list for parents post-lockdown,” Ms Simpson said.

“The data also reflects a growth in parents wanting to do their homework and carefully select the right care for their child or children.”

With the Australian Government’s recent announcement to fast-track the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) changes, urgency for parents to commence research into child care services for 2022 is at an all-time high.

“While a welcome boost to many families across Australia, the accelerated changes to the Child Care Subsidy will not solve the challenge of identifying the best child care provider,” Ms Simpson said.

“Cost is only one part of a complex and emotional puzzle that parents face, and Care for Kids aims to support parents to give their child the best possible start in life.”

Latest figures from the Department of Education, Skills and Employment reveal the average weekly hours of centre-based child care per child was 31 hours (from January to March 2021), up from 30 hours during the same period in 2020 (an increase of 3.3 per cent).

The cost of each hour of that child care increased by 2.5 per cent (from $10 per hour to $10.25) year-on-year. While the CCS can offset some of that cost, it’s more important than ever that parents are getting the best value when selecting their child care provider.

Our data showed the most searched and in-demand suburbs for childcare during a three-month period from 1 July to 30 September 2021, alongside the number of long day care services in the area and their calculated average daily fee, pre-subsidy.

In an effort to aid the lengthy and often overwhelming process of finding the right child care provider, we provide cost of care and subsidy calculators that have been accessed by more than 600,000 parents.

The subsidy calculator reflects the upcoming changes being made in both December and March, enabling parents looking for first-time care and those with children already in care can immediately find out how much they will save on child care costs.

Top 10 Most Searched Suburbs for Child Care July - September 2021

Australia

1. Schofields, NSW
2. Brisbane City, QLD
3. Quakers Hill, NSW
4. Orange, NSW
5. Blacktown, NSW
6. Castle Hill, NSW
7. Baulkham Hills, NSW
8. Wagga Wagga, NSW
9. Richmond, VIC
10. Kellyville, NSW

New South Wales

1. Schofields
2. Quakers Hill
3. Orange
4. Blacktown
5. Castle Hill
6. Baulkham Hills
7. Wagga Wagga
8. Kellyville
9. Wollongong
10. Randwick

Victoria

1. Richmond
2. Point Cook
3. Melbourne
4. Berwick
5. Clyde North
6. Doncaster
7. Craigieburn
8. Tarneit
9. Wodonga
10. Werribee

Queensland

1. Brisbane City
2. Buderim
3. Mackay
4. Redbank Plains
5. Camp Hill
6. Carindale
7. Indooroopilly
8. North Lakes
9. Sunnybank
10. Eight Mile Plains

South Australia

1. Adelaide
2. Parafield Gardens
3. Golden Grove
4. Mount Gambier
5. Salisbury
6. Woodcroft
7. Linden Park
8. Blakeview
9. Mawson Lakes
10. Mount Barker

Western Australia

1. Perth
2. Baldivis
3. Piara Waters
4. Bassendean
5. Ellenbrook
6. Bunbury
7. Willetton
8. Canning Vale
9. Brabham
10. Scarborough

Tasmania

1. Hobart
2. Launceston
3. Lenah Valley
4. Devonport
5. Glenorchy
6. Moonah
7. North Hobart
8. Sandy Bay
9. Howrah
10. Claremont

Australian Capital Territory

1. Belconnen
2. Gungahlin
3. Phillip
4. Bruce
5. Kambah
6. Wanniassa
7. Barton
8. Dickson
9. O'Connor
10. Calwell

Northern Territory

1. Alice Springs
2. Katherine
3. Nightcliff
4. Casuarina
5. Zuccoli
6. Rosebery
7. Karama
8. Durack
9. Leanyer
10. Larrakeyah