Wickham among most expensive suburbs for childcare as local parents voice price increase concerns

A Wickham mother has pleaded for minimal future increases and transparency in daycare prices as new data reveals Wickham to be one of the most expensive suburbs for childcare in WA. Data from childcare comparison site Care for Kids showed the average price for child care in Wickham was $138 a day, a $5 increase between February and December last year. In August last year, Wickham’s only childcare centre One Tree Community Services increased its fees for under 2s from $138 to $143, under 2s casual from $143 to $148, overs 2s from $133 to $138 and over 2s casual from $138 to $143. Mother of one April Williams said she would like to see more being done. “Ideally, more flexible hours to suit the majority of shift workers in the community . . . many of us working mums either start before 7am or finish after 5pm, as the centre is only open from 7am to 5pm, it isn’t meeting the needs of the community,” she said. “Minimal future fee increases and transparency of the fees and charges for the centre, with the options for half days.” Ms Williams said other parents had also voiced their concerns about the price increase. “Many mums feel like day care is far too expensive to return to work, especially if you are paying for more than one child,” she said. “One mum has mentioned to me ‘how are women supposed to keep up their skills, confidence and experience and contribute to the economy?’” One Tree chief executive Karri Hillier said the centre and the childcare sector were facing a lack of qualified early education and care staff nationally. “Staffing services has to be our top priority at the moment so that we can better meet the community need for more childcare places,” she said. Community Services Minister Simone McGurk was contacted for comment. A State Government spokesperson said they had a regulatory role in ensuring services operate in compliance with the law but did not have a role in determining service availability or fees. “Ensuring that early childhood education and care centres in regional areas remain sustainable, accessible and affordable can be challenging but it delivers important benefits to local communities by allowing parents to return to work,” they said. “Often, in regional areas, the number of children a service can accommodate is determined by the number of staff they have, and these ratios are set by legislation, not by the service.” It comes as a $1 million grant was announced by the State Government to attract and retain childcare workers in regions, with payments of up to $25,000 available for local government authorities to deliver a range of initiatives including subsidised accommodation, relocation costs, intrastate travel and training and professional development.