500 signatures reached
To: Victorian Parliament Members Brad Roswell, Ben Carroll, Lizzie Blandthorn, Nicole Werner, and Premier Jacinta Allen; NSW Parliament Members Prue Car, Mark Speakman, Kate Washington, Natasha McLaren Jones, and Premier Chris Minns
Save the Future of Childcare in Australia
I am writing to you with deep concern regarding the future of my highly rated, award-winning business, and the care and education of the children under my charge. This situation, which has not yet been publicly disclosed, threatens to cause irreparable harm to our sector.
On Friday, February 20, 2026, the Education Ministers met in South Australia, where NSW and Victoria’s Education Ministers made a decision that could potentially bankrupt early childhood services, particularly high-quality providers like mine. This decision may also be legally questionable.
You can find more details in the Education Minister's communique here: https://www.education.gov.au/download/20190/education-ministers-meeting-communique-february-2026/44112/document/pdf, with key information in the second-to-last paragraph.
Unaffordability of Early Childhood Services
Most providers, like mine, operate one or two services, lacking the benefits of large organizations’ buying power, tax incentives, or write-offs that Not-for-Profit providers receive. We face significant financial challenges, including:
- The upcoming wage increase of an undisclosed amount due to a gender-related decision from FairWork Australia, effective March 1, 2026.
- Rising insurance premiums, despite the low risk of public liability and workers' compensation claims in our sector.
- Increased administrative and training burdens due to higher child safety requirements.
We are already struggling to stay afloat, especially in Family Day Care (FDC), which is underfunded compared to centre-based care. As of February 27, 2026, FDC providers will face additional restrictions, including the inability to use a bassinet for our own children, and parents will experience reduced Child Care Subsidy access due to the increasing gap in subsidy rates.
An additional $5,000+ cost per service is set to be introduced, which will likely be indexed each year. This increase will push many providers into financial ruin.
For example, my service, which holds approval for 30 educators in Victoria, currently has only 9 working due to regulatory burdens. Despite this, we are still charged based on the full 30-educator approval, which places a severe strain on our finances. Despite these challenges, we are proud of our high-quality ratings and accomplishments. We are the only Family Day Care service in Victoria to have earned an "Exceeding" rating three times and are now applying for an "Excellent" rating. We are the only early childhood service to win the Telstra Best of Business Award for Indigenous Excellence and one of four national finalists in 2024.
Despite these accolades, we are struggling with unexpected expenses, including the need to hire additional staff to manage regulatory demands, which has put us in the red. Many services will not have the resources to do the same.
Misinformation from the Government and Impact on Families
The government will likely blame providers for the financial strain, casting our necessary fee increases as "greed." This narrative is misleading.
Questionable Legality of the Fee Increase
Under the Education and Care Services National Law Act and Regulations, there is no provision for the Education Minister to impose such a substantial fee increase. Regulation 233 specifies how fees should be indexed, and Regulation 236E(5) outlines how these fees should be calculated. There is no legal basis for a tenfold increase in service fees.
If these fees are enforced, approved providers would be in violation of the law, risking the loss of Child Care Subsidy access or the cancellation of service approvals. If we refuse to pay, our services will be shut down by the Regulatory Authority.
Join Us in Protecting Our Sector
We urgently need your support to fight this disastrous fee increase and protect the viability of high-quality childcare services. We cannot let these decisions result in mass closures, which would be devastating for families and children across Victoria and NSW.
Will you join us in advocating against this unfair and potentially unlawful action? Together, we can ensure that families continue to have access to high-quality childcare, and that services like mine can survive financially.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your support in this critical fight.
Why is this important?
The Childcare Sector is in Crisis – And We Need Your Help NOW!
The future of childcare in Australia is hanging by a thread, and we’re running out of time. The Victorian and NSW governments have quietly introduced staggering increases to service approval fees, and if they’re allowed to stand, the consequences will be catastrophic.
The truth is, most childcare services in these states simply cannot afford these increases – some fees will skyrocket by up to ten times their current amount, increasing service costs by thousands of dollars per year. This isn’t just a small change. It’s a devastating blow that will force many services to close their doors, leaving families without the vital care and education their children deserve.
But it’s worse than that.
The legal grounds for these fee hikes are unclear at best. The state governments have kept these increases hidden, with no transparency or advance notice, leaving providers unable to plan or budget. These sudden, secretive hikes are not just unfair – they’re unethical.
This isn’t just a financial blow to childcare services – it's a direct attack on the very heart of early childhood education. Family Day Care services, which are already running on razor-thin margins, are at serious risk. If these fees aren’t overturned, we will see entire services forced to close, staff laid off, and educators lose their livelihoods. Worse, families will be left with nowhere to turn for quality childcare, and many parents will be forced to leave their jobs because they can no longer afford care.
The sad reality is, most Australian families can’t afford full daycare fees as it is. The Child Care Subsidy is limited, and these hikes will only make things worse. Providers will have no choice but to pass these costs onto families, making childcare even less affordable and putting more families in a crisis of their own. This will trap parents at home, unable to work, and destroy careers in the process.
We are facing disaster – and we have to act NOW to stop it.
We can’t let this happen. We need every single voice – every single one of you – to speak up and demand that these fee increases be reversed immediately. If we don’t, we risk losing the childcare services that so many families depend on, and the dedicated educators who nurture our children’s futures.
Please, join the fight. Speak out, sign petitions, reach out to your local MPs, and make sure your voice is heard.
Our sector is too important to lose. Our children’s future is too important to gamble with.
Let’s protect childcare. Let’s protect our families.
Time is running out – act now!
How it will be delivered
We plan to share the link on our Facebook page and Instagram, by email to all our families, and having other early childhood services distribute it to their communities